


Who could love a Beast?

by SherlokiOfPigfarts



Series: Disney/Fairytale Coldflash [2]
Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Beauty and the Beast Fusion, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Beauty and the Beast AU, Belle!Barry, Disney AU, Fluff, M/M, Prince!Leonard, Romance, alternative universe
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-07
Updated: 2017-06-29
Packaged: 2018-10-29 03:21:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 13
Words: 30,588
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10845432
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SherlokiOfPigfarts/pseuds/SherlokiOfPigfarts
Summary: Once upon a time, there lived a handsome prince in a beautiful castle. He lived in the palace with his sister and friends. Though he had all he could want, the young prince was arrogant and selfish. One dark night, an old woman came to the palace seeking shelter from the storm, offering a single rose in return. Seeing her horrid appearance, he turned the woman away. She warned him not to judge a person by their appearance, but he still refused to help her. Then suddenly, the old lady transformed to reveal a beautiful enchantress. The prince begged for forgiveness but it was too late. She saw that there was no love in his heart. As a punishment, she transformed him into a hideous beast and cast a spell over all the castle and servants who lived there.The rose she had offered was also enchanted. If he could learn to love another and be loved in return before the final petal fell, the spell would be broken. If not, he would be doomed to stay a beast, forever. As time passed, despair fell over the prince, for who could learn to love a beast?Beauty and the Beast Coldflash AU





	1. Little Town

_Once upon a time, there lived a handsome prince in a beautiful castle. He lived in the palace with his sister and friends. Though he had all he could want, the young prince was arrogant and selfish. One dark night, an old woman came to the palace seeking shelter from the storm, offering a single rose in return. Seeing her horrid appearance, he turned the woman away. She warned him not to judge a person by their appearance, but he still refused to help her. Then suddenly, the old lady transformed to reveal a beautiful enchantress. The prince begged for forgiveness but it was too late. She saw that there was no love in his heart. As a punishment, she transformed him into a hideous beast and cast a spell over all the castle and servants who lived there.The rose she had offered was also enchanted. If he could learn to love another and be loved in return before the final petal fell, the spell would be broken. If not, he would be doomed to stay a beast, forever. As time passed, despair fell over the prince, for who could learn to love a beast?_

  Barry entered the small town with his usual air of happiness as the rest of the town stared on. He had grown used to being odd. He moved along to the library, paying little attention to the people around him.

The bell above the library door rang as he pushed the door open. He sauntered over to the desk where the librarian Linda was sat.

“Morning, Barry,” she welcomed him with a smile. “Finished your book already?”

Barry smiled back and shrugged. “I could hardly but it down. Besides, there’s not much else to do in this town. Got anything new?”

Linda bit her lip. She checked under the desk, “Nothing new since yesterday. You’re welcome to reread anything you like.”

Barry sighed and placed the book he brought with him on the desk. He turned on his heels and investigated the bookshelf on the other side of the room. “Your library makes this small corner of the world feel big.”

He ran his fingers along the spines of the books before settling on an old favourite. He pulled it out from the shelf and showed it to Linda. She smiled and gestured for him to take it with a wave of her hand. With a nod of thanks, Barry rushed out of the shop again and into the bustling street. He meandered his way between the people while trying to read his book. People tended to avoid him anyway so it wasn’t much of a problem for him to wander through without bumping into anyone. He found himself sat on the edge of a fountain in town when a shadow fell over him.

“Barry.”

He knew exactly who that voice belonged to. He looked up to see Hunter Zolomon, the most popular man in town. He was one of the only people who bothered to talk to Barry, but he was unfortunately also the last person Barry would actually want to talk to. Zolomon was self-centered and brainless, in Barry’s opinion.

He shut his book and raised an eyebrow as Hunter plucked it out of his hand. “Good morning, Hunter.”

“Why do you bother with books anyway?” Barry didn’t waste time replying. He knew hunter didn’t really want to know. “All the ones I’ve read are incredibly boring.”

“Have you read many?” Barry questioned, knowing full well that he’d never seen hunter with a book in his life. He stood up and snatched the book from Hunter before giving a fake smile. He tried to walk away when Hunter forcefully grabbed his arm.

“I have something to ask you, Barry.”

“As much as I would _love_ to chat, Hunter, I have to be getting home now. My father is-”

Hunter scoffed. Barry glared at him. He knew people weren’t kind to his father, but he wouldn’t let people say it to his face. “What’s so funny?”

“Nothing.” Hunter released his grip on Barry’s arm. “It’s just that your father isn’t someone you should be worried over. With all the rumours of him killing his wife-”

In an instant, Barry smacked Hunter in the arm with a book. He looked taken aback, more by Barry than the force of the action. “My father is a good man and he doesn’t need validation form you. I’m not leaving him.”

He gave him a final glare before turning to stomp home. From behind him he heard Hunter laugh. “Well, you’ll leave him when you get married.”

Barry tightened the grip on his book. He whipped his head round and spat back: “I don’t think there’s anyone in this town I would ever want to marry.”

Hunter crossed his arms over his chest, showing his muscles. He gave Barry a venomous smile as though he knew something the young man didn’t. Barry sighed and turned to make his way home without looking back, though he was certain Hunter was watching him leave.

Barry arrived home and slammed the door behind him. He ran his fingers through his hair before placing his book on the closest table.

“Long day?” Barry turned to see his father in the kitchen doorway.

Barry smiled at him and slumped into a chair near the fireplace. “I ran into Hunter. That’ll always bring down my mood. He spoke about you so awfully. I may have hit him with a book.”

Henry Allen settled down into a chair next to him. “Barry, while I’m sure Hunter deserved it, you can’t let people bring you down...not over me.”

Barry nodded. he knew the opinions of other people didn’t bother his dad, but it definitely bothered him. “I know. he just talked about you and marriage and I just-”

“Marriage?” Henry narrowed his eyes. “Barry, you don’t think Hunter...”

It took Barry a second to realise what his dad was asking. When he clicked, his eyes widened and he couldn’t help but laugh. “Hunter? Marrying me? I’m sure he knows how much I hate him. Besides, if I ever do get married, It’ll be for love. I could never love someone as selfish and cruel as him.”

Henry smiled at his son. “Barry, I’m sure you’ll find that one day, even if you don’t think so. Your mother would be proud of you.”

Barry sighed before his eyes moved upwards to where his mother’s painting was above the fireplace. She had died when Barry was young. A sorcerer had killed her, but many in the town didn’t believe them, thinking it had been Henry instead. Barry knew better than that. Looking up at her, he saw the hope in her eyes that he had seen as a child. Even after she was gone, she continued to watch over him. He turned back to his father and returned the smile.

“Thanks dad.”

 


	2. I want so much more than they've got planned

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did everyone see the sizzle trailer? Len is backkkk!!!!! I'm so excited for new coldflash scenes! Anyway here's the chapter  
> Also I'm naming the chapters based on the songs from the movie(s)

The door to the castle creaked open with dust floating off the top onto the patterned floor of marble below. The door hadn’t been opened in years. Henry Allen looked about him. Around him was a castle on a scale he had never seen before. A wide space opened out in front of him, decorated with a floor of marble and dark columns held the ceiling with its shimmering chandeliers above. At the end of the entrance was a large staircase branching off left and right at the top into the larger wings of the castle. The material would have shone from the wealth of it, but it glimmered before Henry for a very different reason. The whole place was covered with a thin layer of ice.

“Hello?” Henry heard his voice echo through to the high ceiling. He rubbed his hands together in the cold of the lifeless building. “Is anyone here?”

His question hung in the eerie silence of the frozen hall. He edged further into the room, watching as the shapes in the room almost danced where the filtering moonlight shone on the ice. The blue haze over the room surrounded him where no figure did. “I’ve simply lost my way. All I need is directions and I’ll leave...”

He held his breath, waiting to see if anyone would emerge. When the echo of his voiced ceased and he was left in the chilling chamber with only his thoughts, he decided it was best to leave. It was when he was about to turn to go that he saw a shadow move on the staircase. It was hard to make out a figure against the darkness of the night outside, but it stalked along the stairs, closer.

“Hello? Please, I just need some help getting home.”

Any further words from Henry were ceased when the figure came full into view. It appeared human until it raised itself up to a height that would tower over any man. It stood amongst the darkness as though it belonged there, locking onto Henry with chilling, blue eyes. It spoke no words of comfort, only a deep, menacing growl.

 

 

Barry could tell something in town was off. He was walking through the streets as usual when he noticed it. Everyone was looking at him. Well, people normally stared at him, but today he saw smiles on their faces. Their usual distain was gone and replaced with knowing grins. It was unsettling. The day continued to be odd when he reached his house and found Hunter waiting in the doorway. He was leaning in the doorway with his arms crossed over his chest and his usual air of self-confidence.

“Morning Hunter.”

His eyes watched Barry as the young man moved to unlock the door to the house, though Barry tried to ignore him. The door opened and he tried to slip in alone but Hunter barged in alongside him.

“Dad?” Barry called with no reply. Henry’s boots and coat were still gone from last night and it only made Barry worry more.

“Has the old fool gotten himself lost?” Hunter laughed to himself.

Barry turned to him with a sharp glare. “Can I help you, Hunter?”

He gave him a devilish grin. “Indeed you can. Barry, this is the day all your dreams come true.”

Barry tried not to scoff at that. “What do you know of my dreams?”

“Well, it seems to me that everyone in this town either dreams of being me or being with me.”

Barry couldn’t help but roll his eyes. From the other side of the room he faced Hunter, who stood over him with his chest out and chin up. “And which category do I belong in?”

Just the way Hunter looked him up and down after that made Barry’s skin crawl. He was certain that Hunter had no idea what went on his head. “As a matter of fact, that’s why I’m here to talk to you.”

Barry narrowed his eyes. “I don’t know what you mean.”

Hunter strode over to Barry with his dark eyes fixed on the young man. “I’ve been thinking about getting married.”

Barry sighed. The last thing he needed was Hunter rubbing his happiness in his face. Barry turned to sort out some letters on the counter behind him and decided to let Hunter drone on. He absentmindedly gestured for him to continue. “Who’s the lucky person then?”

“You.”

Barry froze. Everything seemed to stop for a second before he registered that Hunter was waiting for him to speak. He turned and began to reply: “I don’t think I heard you right-”

When he turned he found Hunter directly in front of him, looking down at him like prey. Barry felt his heart rate pick up dramatically. “I’m here to get you to marry me.”

It didn’t feel real. Just the last day he was telling his father how Hunter would never like him, yet here he was, proposing. His voice stuck in his throat and the air in the room seemed to stop reaching his lungs. He just managed to say, “I don’t know what to say-”

“Then say you’ll marry me.” Hunter was so close that Barry felt pinned against the wall. Suddenly his home felt so small. His nerves built as he desperately thought of something, _anything_ , to say.

“Hunter...” The man smiled at Barry with a catlike grin, clearly unaware of how the younger man was shaking. “I’m...flattered by your proposal...but I must decline.”

Hunter’s confident posture cracked for a moment in confusion, which Barry used to slip away from him and into the open space of the room. Finally feeling free, his mind and voice moved at an alarmingly fast pace.

“I am simply not good enough for you. Any person in this town, man or woman, would be delighted to marry you, I’m certain of it.”

Hunter laughed at Barry’s feigned insecurity and moved closer to him with every step that Barry took away from him. “Precisely. You’re only person in this town who gives me a challenge. You should take it as a compliment.”

_That’s because I hate you_ \- Barry wanted to say. Instead he tried to diffuse the situation as he edged backwards and further towards the door. “Well, I am definitely honoured by the request but I’m sure we wouldn’t make each other happy. I am simply not worthy of you...”

His back hit the door and he fumbled for the door handle. He was broken out of these thoughts when Hunter’s hand landed next to his head. The man leaned his weight on the door and looked down at Barry with dark eyes. His arrogant smile was gone as he saw how Barry was stalling. “Barry. You haven’t said yes yet.”

He gulped. “Hunter...that’s because I don’t intend to.”

While Hunter registered the refusal, Barry sharply twisted the bronze doorknob and swiftly pushed the door open so Hunter fell through and onto the front porch.

“I’m so sorry-” Barry began, but was distracted by the sight of everyone in front of his house, staring. It was then that Barry realised why everyone had been staring. They knew about the proposal before he did. Hunter told everyone that he would say yes. He wanted to be furious, but Hunter was already trying to get up off the floor. “I can’t marry you Hunter. I’m sorry.”

Before anything more could be said, Barry pulled the door closed and turned his back to it. He had barely released a breath before he felt Hunter banging on the door. The harsh bangs vibrated through the wooden door and he heard Hunter yelling from outside for Barry to open the door. The air of confidence from his voice was gone and replaced with a sharp rage. Barry quickly locked the door and grabbed a cloak from the rack next to the door. Without stopping to see if Hunter was still outside, he headed for the backdoor.

 

 

“Can you believed it? He asked me to _marry_ him. Me! The husband to that boorish, brainless-” He wanted to scream. “He didn’t care what I wanted or even if he liked me, he just wanted a challenge and apparently his ego makes him think I could love him. I just...want to marry for love. Is that too much to ask?”

Barry looked down at the small drawing of his mother that he had found himself talking to. He sat on one of the green hilltops outside of the town. Around him he could see the green pastures that painted the horizon, framed by the orange hue of the evening sky. Everything here was peaceful, away from all that awaited him when he would return to town.

He released a sigh and laid back in the green grass. He lifted up the picture to look on her face. His parents had married for love, lived a normal life they were satisfied with. Barry didn’t seem to have either. The only person who wished to be with him was an egotistical brute, and his normal life was good...but in his heart he longed for something more, in any form life could bring it to him.

It was then that he heard the familiar sound of a horse. He sat up to see their family’s horse heading over to him. However his relief at see the horse was short-lived when he saw that it had no rider. Barry quickly stumbled to get up as the horsed barreled towards him and reared its legs as it stood in front of its young owner. Barry tried to shush and calm the horse with little reward as it continued to rage over him. Eventually it eased its kicking enough for Barry to see that the saddle was still on. His father was still out there.

In a desperate rush, Barry hoisted himself onto the horse and it raced away into the nearby forest where it came. Though night was fast approaching, Barry’s concern was for his father whom he hoped, with all his heart, was still alive.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've written a fair amount (in my terms, i write so slowly), I wonder how long this will last. Next chapter: Barry meets a certain cold prince ;)


	3. I'm Stronger Now but Still Not Free

When Barry saw the palace from amongst the trees, he knew something was not right. The castle stood with a forest of trees cloaking it, and a shimmering layer of ice. It overlooked the woods with grandeur, but with the darkness of a forgotten relic.

Barry leapt of his horse when it stopped in front of the doors late that night. He looked back to the horse, hoping it had simply led him to the wrong place, but it was clear that this was where it wanted Barry to be. His father was inside.

He edged toward the castle and laid his hand on the frost-covered door. When it opened, Barry saw how the interior was also covered in ice. He moved into the open space of the castle entrance and looked around for any sign of life.

“Hello?” His voice echoed off the icy walls, the only reply he got. “Please, I’m looking for my father.”

He wouldn’t let the silence scare him away. Instead he took in a deep breath and marched further into the building. He glanced around and made his way up the stairs, trying not to slip on the icy coating. His eyes scanned the corridors that opened before him but nothing moved or gave him hope. He continued to call out into the darkness around him but with no result.

It was then that the silence around him broke. From behind him, Barry heard the creaking of a door. He quickly turned to see a door in the stone wall was open, with a slither of light exiting. He was sure it hadn’t been open before. Deciding that this was his only lead, he edged towards it. When he crept through, the door opened to reveal a stone staircase leading into the darkness of one of the castle’s towers. The stairs twisted so you could barely see what was around the corner, no way of knowing what awaited you. Barry never went down without a fight and so strode through the doorway and began his way up the stony steps. 

They seemed to wind upwards forever when he finally reached the top. At the top of the tower was a dungeon, a series of cells barely stepped into. The whole castle had frost, but here seemed the coldest. The only light was the filtering moonlight and a single torch, lit and situated on the wall next to Barry. He wondered how anyone could still be living in this castle if it looked like this. Despite this worry, he called out into the darkness again.

“Hello? I just want to find my-”

“Barry?”

All the fear and tension in Barry faded away when he heard his father’s voice return his call. He hastily pulled the single torch from the wall and moved into the dark dungeon space until he found the cell containing his father. He fell onto the floor alongside his father and clung to the frosty bars of the cell. 

“Are you okay? What happened?” Barry’s words came in a mad rush. His eyes scanned over his father for any signs of harm. “You’re frozen. We need to get you back to the village. I can help you there-”

Henry’s voice cut him off. “Barry. You need to get out of here.”

“I will once I help you out of this cell-” He quickly surveyed the cell in the hopes of seeing a way he can get him out, But his dad’s words pulled him back.

“Forget about me. It’s not safe here. You need to leave while you still can!”

“I won’t leave without you.”

Suddenly a gust of icy wind rushed from behind him and blew the torch out, leaving Barry in the darkness again with frost in the air.

“I’m getting sick of finding strangers in my castle.”

The words were growled more than spoken. Barry held his breath. He slowly turned. He couldn’t see much in the shadows behind him but he could make out the silhouette of a figure. It was too large to be anything human. 

Despite the fear building in his chest, Barry spoke out. “I’ve come for my father. Please. Can’t you see he needs help?”

The looming figure scoffed and moved slowly through the shadows. “Well, he should have thought of that when he trespassed in my castle.”

Barry was desperate, and wouldn’t back down. “He could die - Please, I’ll do anything!” 

The creature continued to circle the darkness around Barry as though it was mocking him. “There’s nothing you can do...you should leave while I still allow it.”

“Wait!” Barry yelled when the figure tried to move away. He couldn’t see it very well but he felt it’s eyes on him, an icy blue to match the icy kingdom they watched over. Barry felt those eyes on him and felt at a loss for what to do. This...person wanted someone to suffer. Barry wouldn’t let that be his father. Not if he could do something about it. “...Take me instead.”

Immediately Henry spoke up against this. “Barry, you can’t! Just let me stay. I won’t let you suffer here for me!”

Barry paid no attention to him. His attention was on the reaction of the figure. He saw no movement in the shadows, but he was certain that the creature had its eyes fixed on him. “You would...take his place?”

It sounded uncertain, and confused, as though it did not understand why Barry would choose the wellbeing of his father over his own. Barry felt a spark of confidence as he gained some control of the situation. “If I did, you would let him go?”

“Yes-” Its reply was sharp, as though it though Barry would change him mind. “But you must promise to stay here forever.”

_With me._ The words weren’t said but Barry knew that his days would be spend with whoever was in the shadows before him. Whoever...

“Come into the light.”

The air in the chamber stood still. He was certain his request would be denied until he saw the figure shift forward. They edged into the moonlight. 

The figure was not human at all. He was more monster than man. His appearance was that of a wolf, like the creatures told to children to scare them at night. Across his body was white fur with striking blue eyes that could look into the soul but reflect no soul back from within them. His hands and feet were paws with piercingly sharp claws of charcoal black and his sneer revealed fangs and the teeth of a predator. He wore only the remains of human clothes, trousers and a cloak with tears at the edges where they didn’t fit his monstrous form. With harsh puffs of air from his snout, he stared down at the young boy he towered over.

Barry had to cover his mouth not to scream. He could tell his father was yelling from behind him, but Barry sat numb with his back to the bars of the prison cell. It was only when he felt his father’s hands on his shoulder that he could draw his eyes away from the beast before him. He saw the look of fear and desperation on his father’s face and made up his mind. 

Barry slowly raised himself off the floor and moved cautiously towards the creature. When he stood in front of it, he saw how it towered over him, even with its head downturned to watch the young man. 

“If you let my father go, I promise to stay in his place. You have my word.”

Before Barry could change him mind, the beast replied: “Done.”

It was final. The creature moved away from him to release Henry and Barry felt his legs go from under him as the realization of his decision hit him. He sat on the floor, numb, when his father quickly grabbed him and clung to him.

“Barry, please don’t do this! I can’t let you-”

Before he could finish, the beast grabbed his and pulled him away with the strength of a single clawed hand. The creature’s great size meant it strode away with Barry’s father at an alarming speed. Barry tried to yell for the figure to stop, but it was soon out of sight, dragging his father behind it. 

Barry looked around and moved to the window where the moonlight was streaming in from. When he looked out he could see the forest stretching out over the horizon, and from the corner of his view, he could see his father being ridden away on the horse Barry arrived on, with a gust of icy wind pushing him into the thicket and out of sight.

 

Leonard Snart reentered his dungeon. He looked around for the boy who was now his prisoner. He stopped when he saw the boy sitting by the window, framed by moonlight. The light made him look more pale, more delicate, with a softness that everything else in the castle had lost long ago. His frame was small and his head leaned on the glass of the small window, his face turned from Leonard. When the boy finally turned, Len saw the tears stains on his pale cheeks, the glistening effect the tears gave to his light eyes. He locked eyes with and Len and managed to choke out his words.  
“I didn’t even get to say goodbye.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The 'happy' couple have finally met! Now we can get to the romantic stuff. Hope you enjoyed! Next chapter we meet the servants of the household and Barry gets settled in! :)


	4. How Does a Moment Last Forever

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A dinner invitation is given. Alas, the course of true love never did run smooth.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The first part is just exposition galore so bare with me. It gets better, promise.

You could always tell if Len was coming by the growls that would precede him. This was no different to when Len entered the kitchen that same night to find his servants making dinner.

He had given the prisoner a room in the East wing, the furthest from his own in the West. He had wanted to say something to the young man, anything as he led him through the icy corridors, but no words came out. Len had simply dropped him off in a room and went downstairs to tell everyone about the new prisoner. He was therefore unimpressed to find everyone already knew.

“What are you doing?” He growled at the people in the room, if they could still be called people. His curse had changed everyone in the castle also, deservingly or not, into household objects. They became simply what he had cruelly treated them like: objects.

“Nothing, Your Majesty!” Cisco lied. He was once a faithful servant but was now a candlestick, though he was no less chirpy.

“The food was all his idea.” Mick crossed the small pieces of wood he used as arms. He was a clock and the maser of the household. Cisco looked at his friend with a look of betrayal, though he was used to Mick’s gloomier comments.

Len tilted his head and struggled not to roll his eyes when he realized what they were up to. “You’re making him dinner.”

“Well someone has to be a good host, Lenny, because you’re doing an awful job,” came a voice from the doorway behind Len. An elegant feather-duster pushed past him and situated herself on the table with Cisco and Mick. Lisa Snart, the princess, positioned herself on the table and looked up at her brother. “You should invite him to eat with you.”

Leonard just scoffed at the thought. “You’re all being ridiculous. He is my prisoner not a guest. The last thing we want is him getting cozy.”

“But Master,” Cisco tried to carefully put his point across. “Have you considered that his presence isn’t a coincidence? What if he is the one to break the spell?”

Len shot him a glare that would burn through steel. He had thought about it. The last thing he wanted though was to get his hopes up when he had accepted long ago that he wasn’t beating this curse. “He’s not. He’s just the son of some old lunatic from the village.”

“Now, you can’t judge someone based on who their father is, now can you?” Lisa would have placed her hands on her hips as she said this if the had proper arms, so she settled for giving Len a knowing glance.

Len pinned his sister with a look of ice. He knew she was trying to remind him of his own father. King Lewis had been a tyrannical king, cruel to not only his subjects, but his children. Leonard had become more distant from the people in his life and sharper because of it. Eventually, with the support of the royal army, Len took over the throne and ordered his father to be executed for treason. He had swung the sword that ended it. After killing his own father, being cold to the servants or distant didn’t matter to him. Nothing seemed to matter to him. If someone had to die then they did. If someone thought him cruel, he didn't care. He had decided to be different to his father and so ruled justly, though not kindly.

He hated for Lisa to bring it up but he had no argument against her point. Instead he settled for just growling at her. She smiled back at him, victorious.

He decided to change the subject. “I don’t want any of you going to visit the prisoner. He doesn’t know you’re all alive yet.”

Mick slowly turned to glare at Cisco who opened his mouth to say something but couldn’t find a way to say it without angering Len further.

“What did you idiots do?” Cisco looked to Mick in the hope that he would break the news but Lisa piped up with a roll of her eyes.

“Iris is already on her way up there now.”

 

 

His room in the East Wing was cold, though Barry found that the whole castle was cold. The room itself was nice, fancier than he had ever had, with a large bed, walls with flowery patterns, and carpets of rich colours and so on. He wasn’t spending his time admiring the room though. He was sitting on the large bed with his legs crossed, looking down at the picture of his mother in his hand. He thought of his father who was far away, probably at the village by now. All he could think was how it felt like he had lost another parent, except this time he didn’t even have a picture to cry into.

It was then, deep in thoughts of loss, that there was a small knock on the door. He quickly wiped his eyes, not wanting anyone do see him cry. He walked over to the door and, after a moment’s hesitation, opened it. No one was there. He was partly relieved that it wasn’t the master of the castle and partly confused.

“Good evening,” Barry heard someone say, despite not seeing anyone. “Down here.”

Barry then slowly diverted his eyes down to the floor where he saw a teapot and teacup smiling up at him. He barely knew what to say. “Oh-I-uh-you’re...a teapot.”

Without realising he found himself moving backwards into the room at the surprise. He couldn’t take his eyes of the talking teapot as she bounced further inside and began asking him about how he liked his tea. He didn’t register any of the words for a moment, nor his actions when he bumped into a wardrobe on the wall near the bed.

“Oh!” Barry heard from behind him and quickly twisted to see the wardrobe come alive too. He didn’t think his eyes could grow any wider, but they did as he stood with the wardrobe smiling at him. “Careful my dear.”

“You’re alive?” was all he seemed to be able to say. He moved his head between looking at the wardrobe and the teapot, both ladies as far as he could tell.

“I get that this is odd, but you’ll get use to it. I’m Iris and that is Caitlin,” the teapot - Iris - tilted her spout to the wardrobe - Caitlin. Both ladies smiled at him, the first signs of kindness in the otherwise cold place that was his new home. “Now, drink up some tea.”

Barry tried to ignore how odd the whole situation was and instead sat down on the floor and a teacup full of tea careful bounced over to him. He was grateful for something warm in the ice-covered castle and was drinking when the teacup spoke: “Wanna see me do a trick?”

Barry quickly pulled his lips away from the cup to see a small face on the cup. It breathed in and as it blew the air out, the tea in the cup began to bubble over. Barry couldn’t help but giggle. It was a relief to have something funny after the day he’d had.

“Very funny, Wally. This is my little brother.” Wally smiled up at Barry before jumping down to the floor to rejoin Iris.

“It was very brave what you did for your father, Barry,” Caitlin said. “We all think so.”

Iris nodded. Barry appreciated it, but it didn’t make him feel any better about losing him. He would have saved his father no matter the consequences, he wouldn’t let anyone get hurt if he could help them, but he still knew there would be so much of his home with his father that he would miss.

Iris seemed to see this feeling on the young man’s face and moved closer to where he was kneeling. “I know that this seems like an awful place now. But Leonard isn’t as bad as he first appears.”

“The beast is called Leonard? That’s almost as bad as Bartholomew,” he laughed to himself; he was used to being the one with the unusual name. He saw the others looking at him and realised that he hadn’t said his name yet. “I’m Barry.”

“It’s nice to meet you Barry. We’d better get on with dinner. I’ll see you there.” Before Barry could say that he’d rather not have dinner with his captor, Iris was moving away with Wally following closely behind her.

 

 

“Well, this is stupid.”

Lisa looked up at her brother with her usual glare. The four of them, Lisa, Cisco, Mick, and Len, were going to Barry’s room to invite him to dinner. Len had been complaining the entire way from the kitchen with his usual dry wit.

“So,” Lisa began, “what do you think of him? Our guest?”

“I don’t think anything of him.”

Len answered a little too quickly for Lisa to believe that was his actual opinion. “You’re a good liar Lenny, just not with me. You at least think he’s cute, right?”

Len thought about it, Barry’s deep doe eyes that had shone with tears, the paleness of his skin in the moonlight, the warmth that radiated off him, the hint of scarlet in his cheeks, how small and delicate he appeared next to his own monstrous form, the way he’d wanted to comfort and protect him, and replied: “No.”

Lisa smiled anyway, as though she could hear his thoughts. “You’ll admit it soon enough. I think you’ll be in love before you know it.”

Leonard just scoffed. When she asked why he didn’t think so, he simply answered by raising one furry eyebrow.

“Haven’t you heard that beauty is only skin deep?” She counteracted.

“Lisa, I’m not any better on the inside.”

It was then that they reached the prisoner’s room. Iris and Wally were sitting on a table outside the room and Cisco jumped up to join them. Everyone seemed to want front row seats for Len and Barry’s conversations. Len rolled his eyes.

“Barry’s just inside.” Iris smiled at Len to encourage him, though it didn’t help make him any less moody.

_Barry._ Well, at least now the kid had a name. Len raised a clawed finger and knocked on the wooden door to Barry’s room.

Barry was debating whether or not to escape through the window when he heard Len’s booming voice from the corridor. “You will join me for dinner....That’s not a request.”

The statement was quickly followed by the servants whispering for him to be nicer. Barry moved from his spot next to Caitlin over to the door.

Leonard begrudgingly tried again. “...Will you join me for dinner?”

The attempt to be polite made no change to Barry’s opinion. He answered back with an anger that had been building up since he’d stopped crying. “You make me your prisoner, take me away from everything I’ve ever known, and now you want to have dinner with me? _I’m not hungry.”_

Len turned back to the servants and forcefully gestured to the door with one clawed finger. He knew their advice to be nicer was idiotic. Mick just laughed to himself watching Len struggle while the others tired to give advise that he ultimately ignored. He turned back to the door. Why did this kid have to be so difficult? He wasn’t used to anyone speaking to him like this, especially when he’s trying to be polite.

“You can’t stay in there forever,” he snarled. He could feel himself losing the calm his servants were telling him to maintain.

“You’re making me stay in this frozen castle forever. The least I can do is make it as miserable for you as it is for me!”

That was it. Len was done being polite. He banged a fist once against the door and yelled so loud that the castle seemed to rock with the force of it. “Fine then! Go ahead and starve!”

He sharply turned to the gathered servants. Wally was hiding behind Iris and Lisa was looking at him with a look of disappointment at his efforts. Mick didn’t seem surprised at Len at all.

“If Barry doesn’t eat with me, then he doesn’t eat at all.” Len directed the comment at Cisco more than anyone as he knew he was the one most likely to do it regardless. The candlestick rapidly nodded, not wanting to anger him any further. Leaving the servants to their work and Barry in his room, Len stalked away, low growls fading out as he moved off to the other side of the castle. Maybe there he could stop thinking about the stubborn, pretty, boy that was his prisoner.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed! Also are there any other ships you want me to have as side ships? I'm throwing in some other characters from the show(s) as the servants and villagers. I'm think of ones like Cisco/Lisa, Mick/Ray, Cisco/Hartley, Caitlin/Iris, ones like that. I can try and throw some in if people want. Just comment and let me know. :)


	5. Be Our Guest

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hunter sulks, Len sulks, and Barry meets everyone's favourite idiots

Hunter downed another mug of ale. It was a snowy night back in the town, and Hunter sat in front of the fire in the local pub, restless. As the rest of the place boomed with its usual merriment and drinking, he sat quieter than usual. He would normally be the centre of conversation with every ear ready to hear of his latest achievement. However, that night he sat in thought, his anger boiling over.  
“Will you stop sulking already, Zolomon? So one person in town isn’t obsessed with you. I doubt that Allen is even worth the effort. Just marry someone else.” Malcolm Merlyn sauntered over and sat in a chair next to Hunter, though the other man didn’t pay much attention to him. Eobard Thawne was just behind him with more drinks.  
“This isn’t about getting married, Merlyn. Barry and his loony father are the only people in town that I don’t have control over.” He glared into the fire as he spoke as though it had personally offended him. Hunter had influence in many areas of the town, so much so that he could get away with whatever he wanted. He avoided taxes, took whatever he wanted from the market, and had favor with many in the local authorities. It seemed that young Barry Allen was the only person who didn’t let Hunter walk all over them. “I can’t own this town unless everyone in it does as I say.”  
Thawne slumped into a large armchair next to him. “So you think marrying him will give you an excuse to push him around? Get him to do what you want?”  
“Well he’s not going to listen to me willingly. He has this unfortunate moral mindset, means he wants everyone to do the right thing like him. It’s unbearably dull.”  
Malcolm scoffed. “You found the one person in this awful town who’s not in love with you or afraid of you. That’s the one you want to attach yourself to? I know that you find him pretty but-”  
Hunter harshly smacked his jug onto the armrest of his chair and spat back at Malcolm, “As long as Barry is against me, he can convince others. I need complete control over everyone in this town. I’ll get it, even if I have to marry that pathetic bookworm!”  
Suddenly the door to the pub burst open, letting in a gush of cold air and Henry Allen. He came in wide eyed and panicked, quickly catching the attention of everyone there.  
“Help! Please, I need someone to help me!” He raced over to the bar straight to the pub owner behind who was trying to make sense of Henry’s ramblings.  
“It’s Barry!” That caught Hunter’s attention. He was used to ignoring Henry, but hearing that Barry’s involved sparked his curiosity. “He’s been taken! Locked in a dungeon!-”  
Hunter stood up from his spot at the far wall fireplace and looked over the pub before him. The sea of faces were pinned on him, worry and confusion reflected back at him. He enjoyed having everyone look to him for guidance. He tried not to smile at the confidence that brought him and instead turned to Henry. “Slow down, Allen. Who’s got Barry locked in a dungeon?”  
“A beast!”  
There was a pause as Henry’s outburst registered with the room, before everyone burst out laughing. He looked round at the swarm of faces. He was used to their ridicule, but now that Barry was really in danger, in was heartbreaking to see no one believe him. He heard people hurling insults at him: _Is it a big beast? Whatever will Barry do? That poor boy’ll be dead by morning!_  
“Alright!” Hunter said over the mass of noise in the room. He smiled but spoke with mocking sympathy “Don’t worry, we’ll help you out, Henry.”  
He was about to be relieved at the help when some of the men in the pub grabbed him to literally help him out of the pub. He tried to protest but to no avail. They pushed him to the snowy ground outside and returned to their drinking. From his place on the floor, he shivered with the chill and looked back at the pub. He was tempted to go back in and try again. He simply couldn’t leave Barry in the castle when he was only there because of him. But he saw how they laughed inside and knew they would be of no help to him. It would be better to go home and think of a better plan.

“Henry’s getting crazier by the day,” Thawne laughed as Henry was thrown out. He turned back to Hunter and saw how the man was back to staring into the fire.  
“Hunter, are you still thinking about-”  
The man simply put up a finger to silence him friend. It was then that Eobard saw a smile growing on Hunter’s face. He turned his devilish grin to Malcolm. “Does Damien Darhk still run the asylum?”  
“Last I checked, yes. Why does that matter?”  
Hunter leaned back in his armchair, his usual air of confidence returning. The flames in front of him were reflected in the dark voids of his eyes. “Gentlemen, I think I have a way to make Barry mine.”

 

Len’s residence in the West Wing of the castle was the coldest in the building. Few dared to go up there to see him and therefore few genuinely saw Leonard. Since he was the only one up there, it had long grown into disarray. His quarters became a cave more than a room. He sat in a dark corner of his room, looking at his claws and thinking about what his servants had said.  
Have you considered that his presence isn’t a coincidence? What if he is the one to break the spell? - Len had often thought what the person to break the spell would be like. He’d thought perhaps they’d be ugly, someone who couldn’t be loved just like him. Maybe they’d be someone with nothing to live for, choosing to stay with a monster. Perhaps they’d be twisted, thinking to stay with a creature that could kill with a flick of its wrist so they could hurt people.  
Barry was none of those things. He had a father and future to live for. He was kind and moral...and beautiful. Len hated to admit it. He growled at himself for even thinking that.  
He leaned over to the table next to him and picked up a mirror. It had been a twisted gift left over by the enchantress that had cursed him. He held it in front of his face and saw the white fur, sharp teeth, and wanted to smash it. At least his eyes had stayed their usual blue. “Show me the prisoner.”  
There was another cruel irony to the gift. He could use it to see anyone, see all the lives that were better than his. He hadn’t really had cause to use it for years. Except now.  
As he said the words, the image of his beastly face faded to reveal Barry in the glass. As far as Len could tell, he was sat in his quarters on the other side of the castle. He was sat on the bed, listening to Caitlin telling stories of when they were human. The thing that caught him off-guard was the small smile on the boy’s face. All Len had seen on his face was sorrow, and had heard his anger. Yet seeing him happy, even in the smallest way, was different. Barry was everything he had lost long ago, innocence, happiness, purity. It made him want to throw the mirror across the room. He knew it wouldn’t smash though. He had tried before. Instead, he placed it back on the table, glass side down.

 

Some time later, once the castle had returned to its usual silence, Barry emerged. Caitlin had gone to sleep so he decided to use this opportunity to explore his new prison. He peered out from his room into the corridor. Seeing that the coast was clear, he crept out of his bedroom and through the corridors that ran through the castle like a maze.  
It looked like a place out of a fairytale. Beneath his feet was a blood red carpet that stretched over the stone floors and cushioned the sound of his footsteps. The windows were clear but gave the effect of stained glass where intricate patterns of ice lay on the surface and sealed the joints shut. The walls had paintings, often of regal figures long dead that seemed to watch Barry move past them as though they longed to crawl out and join him. Despite their following eyes, the castle maintained its air of loneliness.  
Once Barry turned a corner, he found himself at the top of the staircase that led down to the entrance hall. He would have moved on, having seen that part before, but something was different. From a room off of the entrance hall came a warm orange light that bathed a small part of the floor, and the sound of people. He assumed it wouldn’t be physical people but the servants who were objects now. He listened in but didn’t hear the gruff voice of his captor and so decided to made his way towards the space.  
He reached the bottom of the stair and was going to turn into the lit room when he saw it again. In front of him was the door out of the castle. Freedom. His eyes lingered on it. He wanted to leave, be anywhere but there. Yet he didn’t. He had made a promise to stay and would honour that.  
He moved over to the other room instead and opened the door to hear the end of a conversation.  
“But Iris, I’m not-” the person yawned, “-sleepy.”  
“Are you sure about that?” Iris chuckled and she checked Wally was going back to sleep in the cupboard as usual.  
Barry moved in. Most objects weren’t looking at him, but he caught the eye of a clock that immediately turned his attention from the candlestick with him over to Barry. “So, you’re the one causing all this commotion.”  
The clock hopped down from the table and the candlestick swiftly followed, eager to actually see the new arrival. Iris turned from her place on the countertop and smiled at seeing him again. Barry had started turning red with everyone staring at him. He knelt down to get a better view of them.  
The candlestick dashed round the clock to beat him to Barry. “A pleasure to meet you. I’m Cisco, the grumpy clock’s Mick and you already know Iris.”  
Cisco blew out the fire on one of the candles on his ‘hand’ and used it to shake Barry’s. Mick stood next to him with his arms crossed, inspecting Barry.  
“It’s good to meet you all.”  
“Now,” Cisco relit his hand with the fire on his head and smiled at Barry. “If there’s anything you need, we’re right here to assist.”  
“Well, I’m kind of hungry. I didn’t want to admit that to Leonard though.”  
Cisco practically beamed at the news. “Of course! Iris! Get out the cutlery, prepare the table-”  
He turned and whisked off to work. Mick rolled his eyes as he usually did when Cisco did anything. “Len said not to feed the prisoner.”  
“Well Len will just have to deal with it. I’m not letting him go hungry.” Iris got started on some food regardless.  
“Besides,” Cisco bounced from cupboard to cupboard, “What he doesn’t know won’t hurt him.”  
Mick was used to these sort of disagreements. “Then give him a crust of bread and a glass of water. Done.”  
“Oh come on Mick.” Cisco leaned over the edge of the table he was now standing on to look down at Mick who was at Barry’s feet prepared to push him back to his room. “Don’t think of him as a prisoner. He’s our guest!”  
Feeling that there was not much point in complaining to deaf ears, Mick let Iris and Cisco rush around to get Barry some food. The young guest felt flustered as he was asked a variety of food related questions with no time to answer them and soon was sat in an empty dining hall. It was a long table made for guests that hadn’t been coming there for years. He could tell that in its prime this place would have been bustling with high class dinners and wealthy parties. Barry sat down at the head of the table and soon had various meals in front of him. He’d only been a bit peckish before but after seeing so much food, he was definitely hungry.

He had made it through three courses and was denying a fourth (he blamed his high metabolism) when he finally asked his new friends the question he had been too embarrassed to ask Caitlin.  
“So, how did you all get to become like this? Caitlin said you were human?”  
Iris stopped pouring tea and took a deep breath before replying. “Master Snart was cursed and we along with him.”  
“We’ve been like this for years. I mean, I look ridiculous,” Cisco sighed.  
“No more ridiculous than you did before. Besides, at least you’re something cool,” Mick grumbled.  
“Would _you_ like to be on fire?”  
Mick looked him up and down before confidently replying, “yes.”  
Barry was about to ask more when the door creaked open slightly and a feather duster floated in and quickly shuffled over to Barry. “I can’t believe no one told me you were up. I’ve been dying to properly meet you, sweetie.”  
Lisa introduced herself and was quick to look over Barry and check if he was as attractive as Len’s earlier feigned lack of interest would suggest.  
“I’m glad to see the servants have been keeping you well fed.”  
Barry was caught off guard by her comment. “Wait, you’re not a servant?”  
Lisa giggled to herself. “Not exactly. I’m Lenny’s sister.”  
That was unexpected, Barry thought. He had assumed Leonard didn’t have any family, especially not a sister like Lisa. “Oh, I’m sorry. You...certainly give off a regal air.”  
“Of course. I was quite the human though. The prettiest girl around. Isn’t that right, Cisco?”  
She turned back to Cisco with a sly grin. If Cisco could have blushed he would have turned an abnormal shade of red. “Yeah! I mean - uh - totally, absolutely...NOT that you’re not pretty now as well, totally still got it-”  
She laughed watching him run circles around himself with his words. She couldn’t wait to watch her brother do the same when him and Barry got some time alone. Barry was so sweet to everyone but Leonard so far and she was determined to change that. She could already see the potential between them. She sighed to herself. If those two idiots wouldn’t work it out and get to know each other, she would just have to make them do it herself.  
“Now,” She turned back to Barry with a rustle of feathers. “How would you like a tour?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Noooo oneeeeee ...... Plots like Hunter! Takes cheap shots like Hunter!  
> Plans to persecute Barry's father like Hunter!  
> For the next chapter I will quickly be posting,  
> I hate that guy...Hunter!
> 
> Also the middle part with Len does nothing for plot, it's just there for angst. Its been Barry-centric so far and I wanted some Len so sue me


	6. If I Can't Love Him

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Len proves if he is a monster or not.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was AWFUL to write it's so description heavy and I really struggle with action sequences like chases and fights which this chapter as BOTH OF. Plus Barry kind of needs to be afraid to follow the plot even though it's kind of out of character for him to be this frightened. So sorry that this chapter is pretty rubbish. At least now we can get to the cute stuff.

“So, you were a rich family before...this?”  
Lisa smiled to herself as the pair walked alone through the upper levels of the castle. She didn’t think now was the best time to say that they are actually royalty whom no one remembers because Len must make someone love him regardless of his status. She simply said, “Quite rich.”  
They walked along a corridor with suits of armour lining the walls. The castle was beautiful, Barry had to admit. It was grand on a scale like nothing in their small town. The only difference was that no one seemed fully happy here. At least in town people enjoyed their simple lives. Here everyone lived in luxury, but with a curse that took meaning from it all. The wealth that had once been enough had proved meaningless when the things that really mattered were taken away.  
“Say hello to Laurel and Sara,” Lisa pointed to the two suits of armour at the end of the corridor. Barry looked over to see their metal heads turned towards him. He was expecting to see people inside as normal but they were empty suits that moved through the curse. He was still not used to having everything come to life like this, but Barry smiled at them all the same.  
“Evening.”  
“They are some of the finest fighters in our guard.” Barry turned to Lisa with a look of additional surprise. “Yes we had a guard at our command, we were _very_ rich.”  
Barry laughed as they reached the end of the corridor. It turned off left and right. Lisa began moving off to the right, but Barry found his eyes looking down to the left. To the left was a staircase leading up into the darkness of another wing of the castle. It looked like the last place Barry should go, but something in the back of his mind was telling him that that was the way to go.  
“This way, sweetheart.” Lisa waited for Barry to stop looking down the wrong way, but his eyes remained on the dark staircase.  
“Lisa, what’s up there?”  
With a swish of her feathers she floated over to Barry’s side and looked up at the staircase with a sigh. “That’s the West Wing. Lenny said you can’t go up there.”  
“Why not though?” He turned to Lisa but she stayed silent. “You all are keeping secrets from me. I’m going to find out eventually.”  
Barry began making his way up the stairs but Lisa was quick to skirt past him and position herself in front of him, though her height meant she wasn’t much of an obstacle.  
“Barry. I would love to go up there with you and go against my brother’s rules, just not today okay? We can go up another time.”  
He wanted to argue back, but something told him that she wouldn’t budge. He was determined to see what they were hiding regardless. “Fine. Another time then.”  
“Good. Now: There’s a ballroom downstairs that I’ll bet you’ll love.” She smiled at her seeming victory and moved off down the other corridor with Barry hesitantly behind her.  
As Lisa began talking and turned round a corner, Barry stopped. He waited a moment to check that she hadn’t noticed before silently rushing back down the corridor they had just come from. He bounced past Laurel and Sara whose metal heads were turned to watch him, knowing perfectly well that Barry was going where he shouldn’t. He looked at them and froze for a moment before putting a finger to his lips. It took a second, but the ladies turned back to their usual positions and Barry was relieved to at least have someone in this house willing to let him find the truth.  
He moved up the stairs and into the West Wing of the castle. Everything here seemed to have more darkness that the rest of the castle. The red of the carpet was worn and black from neglect. The cold air was sharper and the light more scarce. Barry moved down the corridor regardless. He crept further as the corridors twisted in a maze and he tried to remember where the staircase away was. The last thing he wanted was to be stuck here.  
“Barry?”  
He froze. He heard Lisa’s voice from around a corner and scanned his surroundings for a quick hiding place. Then his eye caught sight of a large set of wooden doors. At the end of a final corridor was doors that arched to reach the ceiling. Acting on impulse, Barry quickly moved towards it. The brass door handle was cold to the touch but Barry ignored it and pushed himself into the room, swiftly closing the door behind him. He placed an ear to the door to see if he could hear Lisa, but he heard nothing.  
Barry turned to see where he was and was sure he had found what he was looking for, but wasn’t sure if it was a good idea hunting for it. The room was destroyed as though a hurricane had torn the room apart. On the far end of the room was a balcony that brought in the moonlight that vaguely lit the room. Through this he saw the room. The furniture was overturned, littering the floor, and plush curtains that would have hung on the wall was now ripped apart and draped from wall to wall. The walls and ceiling were decorating with a sharp coat of ice that would draw blood. Around the room were mirrors, but all were smashed with the glass still laying in shards on the floor while the frames hung loose and empty.  
Despite the signs not to, Barry’s curiosity led him to walk further into the room. He carefully moved, meandering past upturned chairs and stepping over shards of glass. He ducked under a curtain and circled round a table. All that caught his eye was wreckage, till he saw the remains of a painting and stopped. He stepped to the edge of the room where the painting hung.  
It was a man. He was dressed in regal attire like a prince and gave off the presence of power, even on a canvas. His chest was out and his chin up, with a subtle smile and piercing blue eyes that seemed almost familiar. Barry thought he was handsome, the kind of man that would captivate a room with looks alone. The thing that was most telling though, was the three tear marks that ran across the painting. Claw marks. Barry looked closer at this man, and couldn’t shake the feeling that he knew him, somehow.  
He could of stared at him forever, had he not seen a pink light out of the corner of his eye. Barry tore his gaze away from the painting and spotted a pink light, the object blocked by a draped curtain. He crept over to the balcony, closer to where the object was. His hand reached a torn curtain and he pulled it over his head to see a rose.  
A single red rose sat in an icy glass case. It sat on a small table, framed by the moonlight coming in from the balcony beyond. It shone with a pink aura and seemed to float. It gave off an awe of magic. Barry was captivated. Without thought he slowly laid his hands on the cold glass surface of the case and lifted it off. The flower, though a vibrant red and full of life, had some silky petals fallen off and laying on the table beneath. It was a curious token. Barry watched it and sensed something was different about it. He slowly raised his hand to touch it.  
Then a shadow fell. A cold wind brushed past. Barry tore himself away from the rose. He turned behind him to see the beast.  
Leonard loomed over Barry, over a head taller than the young man. He stood above Barry so that all he could see was the monster. His eyes burned with fury and with one arm pushed Barry aside with the force of multiple men. Barry fell backwards into the smashed remains of a wardrobe. His head was dizzy, but he scrambled to his feet. He turned back to see Len replace the glass case over the rose. Leonard turn slowly back to Barry, his hands still protectively placed on the glass case. Barry tried to step backwards but couldn’t look away from Len who pinned him with a glare of ice.  
Len slowly turned fully back to Barry and stood a his full height, a sight that made Barry’s breath stop in his throat. Barry had only ever seen Len in the dark of a dungeon. He’d only seen him with his father behind him or a door between them. Now they were alone. Barry was terrified.  
“Why did you come here?” He asked in a low snarl, his fangs shining in the semi-darkness.  
Barry could barely speak. His feet edged him backwards as his eyes stayed fixed on the creature staring down at him. He could barely think of something to say. “I’m...I’m sorry.”  
“You were told never to come here,” Leonard’s voice began to get louder as his anger built. His breathing became harder and he followed Barry as he tried to move away.  
Barry nearly fell into a turned-over chair as he tried to move further towards the door. His heart was racing. “I didn’t mean any harm.”  
“Do you realise what you could have done?!” He was shouting now. In a rage, his arm bashed into a table and sent it flying across the room. It splintered into pieces as it smashed against a wall.  
“Please, stop!” Barry sped up his backwards movements and raised his arms between himself and the beast, expecting to be hit next.  
“Get out!” Barry didn’t waste any time. He turned to the door and raced through the debris, not caring if he ran into anything or stepped on glass. He heard something behind him smash as Snart destroyed anything he could get his hands on. He reached the doors and burst through, desperate to be anywhere but there. As he hurtled down the corridor he heard a final roar that would have shook the castle. “GET OUT!”

As soon as Barry was out of sight, Len stopped. He was panting from the rage. Once he finally realised what had just happened, he froze. The fear in Barry’s eyes, the way he’d shuddered as Len smashed the already wrecked room he called his safe haven, it was because of him. He looked back through the open door but his last hope to break the curse was gone. He knew his anger would get the better of him. He knew he couldn’t break the curse, or find happiness beyond being a monster, or love someone. He stood in the remains of his home, looked away from the door, and put his head in his hands.

 

Barry ran. He couldn’t stop. He flew through the castle and raced down the stairs to the front door. He could vaguely hear someone calling him to stop, Cisco, maybe. He didn’t care. He couldn’t stay there another minute, not when the master of the house was on the verge of killing him. He had to try and get out.  
He pushed through the front door and was immediately met with a gust of cold wind. He moved on regardless and rushed into the outside. If he could get to town, or at least far enough away, he’d be safe. He ran and ran. The surroundings past him but he ignored them, only thinking of running, the rush of cold air on his face.  
It was only when he tripped and landed on the snowy ground that he registered where he was. He’d run into the forest around the castle, nothing but trees in sight. He hadn’t noticed where he was going. He hadn’t noticed the thicket of trees that blocked out the moonlight. He hadn’t noticed the layer of snow on the ground.  
He partially lifted himself off the wet forest ground and rested his back against the nearest tree. He wrapped his arms around himself in an attempt to stop shaking. He’d not stopped to grab a cloak or anything for warmth. He tried to breathe warm air onto his frostbitten hands, but it did little to warm him. He glanced behind him but couldn’t see the castle behind him through the thick trees. He couldn’t see anything around him but trees. He couldn’t go back to the castle, Snart looked prepared to kill him. He couldn’t find his way back to town either, not in this darkness. He tried to calm his frantic heart but he had run out of options. He was lost in the cold. He didn’t see the way back to the castle. He didn’t see the moon through the trees. He didn’t see the creatures in the shadows, watching him. He didn’t see the wolves.

 

“Snart!” Mick rushed into Len’s room as fast as his wooden legs would let him. Len stood inside with his back to the door, his eyes laying on the rose with hatred at both the curse and himself. “Barry’s gone.”  
“I know. He shouldn’t have been in this wing.” He tried to excuse his actions but had little energy left to defend himself. Barry would never love him now. At least Barry wouldn’t have to stay in the castle much longer if Len was going to stay a monster forever.  
“No, idiot! Barry’s gone! He ran away.”  
The breath stopped in his throat for a second. He turned to look back at Mick and saw in his face that he was telling the truth. At this time the forest would be covered in wolves and Barry had no horse, no weapons, no one. He’d die out there. And it would be Len’s fault.  
“I’m going after him.”

 

He heard the growling before he saw them. It bellowed from behind Barry and he moved away from his tree into the open. Out from the darkness he saw yellow eyes glaring back at him. A wolf. Then other eyes joined from the depths of the trees and the young man found himself surrounded. He wasn’t getting out of this. The were all around. His eyes darted between the yellow orbs watching him. he quickly grabbed the nearest thick branch he could and raised it like a sword. He wouldn’t go down without a fight. He was done with being afraid.  
The animals crept out of the trees. They slowly edged further into the open where Barry stood. He moved in circles trying to make sure none attacked from behind. It seemed hopeless though. One bounded towards him and beat it back with full force. It whimpered as the wood hit it and it wriggled in the snow before looking back at Barry with a sharp snarl. he couldn’t fight them all. One nearly nipped at his foot. Another caught his branch in its teeth and tore Barry’s defense from him. One pulled at his trouser and he fell into the snow. He frantically looked between the beasts. He seemed defeated.  
Then he heard a roar erupt from the trees. He closed his eyes and covered his ears at the sheer volume of it. When he opened them again he saw Len over him, looking out at the wolves with a snarl of pointed teeth. He crouched over Barry, protecting him.  
In a flash he jumped over into the pack of wolves. Some rushed away, others leapt to sink their claws into their towering rival. He caught one wolf in a clawed hand and pushed off other with his other arm. His ripped through one and red blood soaked his white fur. Another jumped onto his back and he used all his might to throw it off him into a nearby tree where it fell into a clump. He tore his teeth through some while others clawed and ripped at his flash. As he caught one in his claws and tore it in half, the others frantically raced back into the trees, unable to stop a wolf twice their size.  
Barry could only sit in the snow and watch. When the wolves were all gone, Leonard turned his eyes behind him to Barry who was shivering but unharmed to his relief. Their eyes met across the snowy plain and Barry saw in Len’s eyes something he hadn’t seen in them before, a softness he didn’t think the beast had. He had saved his life. Barry was struggling for something to say when Len collapsed into the snow.  
Without thinking why, Barry rushed over to Len’s side. He knelt in the snow next to him and scanned his body for wounds. He was covered in bite marks and scratches. Barry couldn’t leave him, not now, not when he had risked his life for him. He hastily put one of Len’s arms over his shoulder and stood on shaky legs. He was prepared to walk with Len back to the castle, when luckily he heard something from the trees, a horse.  
It reached them through the trees and Barry could tell it was from the castle. They knew the pair were out there. Once it reached them through the thicket, Barry struggled but pulled Len onto it’s back. He pushed himself up against the animal for warmth and, holding the reigns, began the walk in the darkness back to the castle.


	7. Days in the Sun

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another chapter? I'm on a roll! This'll have to be the last one for about a week because I have exams coming up but I didn't want to leave it after the last entry. I think the final scene with our boys is one of my favs from this fic.

When Len woke up it was far too bright for his taste. He preferred to sit in the darkness of his wing of the castle, but when he began opening his eyes the sunlight poured through. He must have been in a bedroom away from his own wing. The other thing he noticed was the pain. The wounds on his arms and sides stung a little. He began turning when he heard a voice. “You need to stay still.”  
He fully opened his eyes and saw that sitting on the side of the bed was Barry. Len was sure that Barry would have left the minute he could, or have left Len in the snow. Yet here he was, sat next to Len with a warm cloth for his wounds.  
Then Barry reapplied it and Len winced with the pain. “That hurt!”  
“If you’d stop moving then it wouldn’t hurt as much,” Barry spat back. It ruined the moment and Len glared over at him. Barry was still as spiteful as before apparently.  
Len turned away and mumbled, “If you hadn’t run away this wouldn’t have happened.”  
“If you hadn’t frightened me, I wouldn’t have run away!”  
Snart turned back to him but found Barry glaring at him with the same level of stubbornness. “Well you shouldn’t have been in the West Wing!”  
“Well you should learn to control your temper!”  
Len was all out of arguments. He knew the curse had made him less than jolly, but no one in the castle spoke to him like that. Lisa and Mick might tease but they wouldn’t risk his anger like Barry was. He wasn’t afraid of him anymore. He just decided to turn away from Barry instead and growled.  
Barry sat there and watched him for a moment. He seemed less like a monster and more like a petulant child. He’d cleaned up most of where his white fur had been stained red and wounds were bandaged up.  
“I...” He didn’t know how best to say it, but it needed saying. “Thank you, for saving my life.”  
Len hadn’t expected a thank you and had to turn back to Barry to see if he was being genuine. The small smile on Barry’s face showed that he was. Len relaxed a little from his anger. He didn’t know quite what to make of the young man before him.  
“You’re welcome.” He looked at Barry for a moment, as though something in his eyes would help him to figure the young man out, when he saw a bandage on his arm. “You brought me back to the castle. How?”  
“I’m stronger than I look!” Barry said, defensive. Len tilted his head and raised an eyebrow. He couldn’t fault him for trying to look tough though. “Alright, Mick sent a horse after you and I used it to get you back to the castle.”  
Len chuckled to himself but after a moment asked, “Why?”  
Barry looked at him, confused. Then he realised what Len meant. “It was the right thing to do. Besides you saved my life. I wasn’t about to let you die.”  
Len thought that sounded like something Barry would do. He gave up his life to free his father, it made sense that he would help him. It was nothing more. It wasn’t because he cared. He was about to turn over and rest some more when Barry spoke again.  
“I have a proposition.”  
Len narrowed his eyes. “Alright.”  
“We haven’t got off to the best start.” Len scoffed at the understatement. Barry just rolled his eyes. “Regardless we clearly care enough not to let each other die. So, I say we start over. I will stop hiding in my room and sneaking around, if you try being polite and not lose your temper.”  
It was a good offer. He hadn’t expected Barry to be willing to make amends. Yet he seemed honest about his proposal. Len didn’t know why, but he wanted Barry to like him. “I suppose I can try that.”  
Another thing he didn’t yet know, was why he felt a weight come off his shoulders when his words made Barry smile.

 

“Finally, Lenny, you’ve decided not to be so idiotic.”  
Len looked over at his sister who was helping to set up breakfast in the dining room. She didn’t normally, being a princess and all, but she wanted to talk to Leonard after all the drama of last night.  
“I knew you liked him,” she teased.  
Len rolled his eyes as he speared a piece of bacon on one of his claws. “I don’t.”  
She laughed at how he still denied it. “I can’t tell if you’re stubborn or blind. You obviously do. You saved his life from wolves and here you are, out of you room in the sunlight for the first time in forever.”  
She smiled and sauntered through the room to check everything looked perfect. She knew the boys would want to eat alone, but she had already decided to spy from the kitchen. It was highly likely that the others would be watching too.  
“Well I’m glad you’re so entertained by my struggles, but that doesn’t mean we like each other. We tolerate each other.”  
“Oh of course, you stare at him with a look of tolerance alone. How could I ever think otherwise?” she laughed.  
Len tried to ignore it. She seemed adamant that she knew his own feeling better than he did. Regardless, he sat with breakfast, beginning to think Barry had changed his mind about coming to join him.  
Then, for not the first time, Barry surprised him. The dining room door slowly edged open and Iris entered with Barry just behind her. Len just watched him as he thanked Iris, pulled up a chair next to Len, and smiled.  
“What’s for breakfast?”

 

“I don’t usually leave the asylum for anyone, Hunter,” Damien Darhk said as he sat in the corner of the pub counting coins. “But I guess I’ll make an exception. What do you want?”  
Hunter scanned the room to check no one was eavesdropping. He could probably get away with his scheme regardless, but it would be easier in secret. With Eobard and Malcolm at his side, he leaned in and explained.  
“It’s simple. I’ve got my sights set on marrying Barry, but he needs a little more...persuasion.”  
“Turned him down flat,” Malcolm mumbled into his beer.  
Hunter didn’t need the reminder. He glared at his friend before continuing. “His father is so often called a mad man. He was in here only last night, raving about some beast. It wouldn’t surprise anyone if he was sent to the mad house.”  
Damien rolled his eyes as though he had heard it all before. “Henry is harmless.”  
Hunter began losing his patience. “The point is that Barry will do anything to protect his father from being locked up, even marry me.”  
“So, you want me to throw Henry into the asylum unless Barry agrees to marry you.” Damien narrowed his eyes at Hunter. He knew the man was determined, but he’d never gone as far as threatening someone’s family. “It’s an awful lot of effort for the affection of one man.”  
“My point exactly,” Malcolm added with a roll of his eyes.  
“ _Shut up_ ,” Hunter spat back at the other man. Shooting him a venomous glare, he turned back to Damien. “I don’t need you to understand my motives or intentions, just lock up Henry until I say otherwise. Do we have a deal or not?”  
Damien considered it. It wouldn’t cause him any trouble to help, and Hunter wasn’t someone you wanted to make an enemy out of. He would however make a powerful friend. It was a cruel plan, but Hunter’s plain expression showed that he had no concern for that, only that he got what he wanted. Damien wasn’t exactly moral either. “Alright Hunter. You have a deal.”

 

Len stood with Mick on a balcony looking over the vast gardens that accompanied the castle. The grounds were covered in a soft layer of snow that left the landscape pure white. There was a small burst of colour: Barry in a scarlet cloak as he walked in the morning light. Len watched him wondering about the gardens and couldn’t shake the feeling that something had changed. He felt as though he was starting to see Barry as he was.  
“Mick, I want to do something for Barry.”  
His friend looked up at him and the clock hands on his face twitched. He looked at Len with a raised eyebrow and his usual judging expression.  
“Not because I like him.” Mick’s expression didn’t change, showing that he really didn’t believe him. Len continued anyway. “I’m the reason he’s here so it’s the least I can do. What would he want?”  
Mick’s eyes rolled back far into his skull. He had enough struggle with Cisco pining over Lisa. At least maybe Len might break his curse. Begrudgingly, he decided to help. “Well, there’s the usual: flowers, chocolates, promises you don’t intend to keep...”  
Len continued to look over the grounds and pondered. “It should be special.”  
Mick sighed. “Well you seem to know him better than anyone here so far. What does the kid like then?”  
Len crossed his fur-covered arms. They had talked over breakfast and Len was slowly learning more about the young man. Barry liked spending time with his father, doing the right thing, and books. At least one of those would work as a gift.  
“I think I have an idea.”

Later that day, Len told Barry he had something special to show him and led him back through the castle to a large pair of white wooden doors.  
Len was about to open the door when he paused and turned back to Barry. “You have to close your eyes.”  
Barry just smirked and raised an eyebrow. Len mumbled, “it’s a surprise.”  
Barry was beginning to wonder how Len had changed from a source of fear into something closer to an excited child. Laughing to himself, Barry obliged and closed his eyes.  
Len nodded to himself and opened the door to the dark room. When he turned to lead Barry in, he froze. Barry had stretched his hands out in front of him so Len could take them and lead him inside. Len just looked at them for a moment. He hadn’t risked touching Barry yet, even in the small way of holding hands. He didn’t want to repulse him with his paws or sharp claws. He didn’t want Barry to look at him again the way he had in the West Wing.  
When Barry noticed nothing was happening, he cracked open one eye slightly and saw Len glaring at his hands. His own paws were hovering over Barry’s hands, needing a little push.  
Barry found the nerves sweet, but unnecessary. He hadn’t thought about Len’s perception of him and especially didn’t think he had any reason to fear _him_. Taking the initiative, Barry closed his eye again and gently nudged his hands into Len’s.  
Leonard hadn’t expected it and was waiting for Barry to shudder and pull back, but he didn’t. He gently tightened his grip and began to lead Barry into the room.  
“Can I open my eyes yet?” Barry asked with a smile once they were in the centre of the room.  
“Not yet,” Len hesitantly let go of Barry and moved away to pull back the velvet curtains and let in the light.  
Barry could tell the lighting had changed even with his eyes closed and suddenly felt excitedly impatient. “Now?”  
“Okay. Now.”  
The sight Barry saw when he opened his eyes took his breath away. It was a library, with bookshelves over multiple walls that scaled all the way to the high ceiling. There were staircases to higher levels to reach the highest books and push seating areas littered across the room. A large fireplace stood on the wall opposite the entrance. The room was a light blue but had a vibrant array of colours in the books inside it. The room alone was bigger than most of the houses in town. Barry had never seen so many books in his life.  
Len felt an unexpected but welcomed glee in his chest at seeing Barry’s face light up upon seeing the library. His mouth lay slightly open and his eyes wandered over the shelves and shelves of books, entranced. He thought the answer was obvious, but wanted to ask anyway. “Do you like it?”  
Barry didn’t think there were words to express the excitement he felt. “It’s wonderful!”  
“Then it’s yours.”  
Barry looked at him as though Len was crazy for the suggestion. As he spoke his arms flailed and pointed at the books as though Len’s words and the scene around him didn’t match up. “Mine? just to keep? The whole library?”  
“No, just one shelf,” Len added sarcastically before scoffing. “Yes, the whole library. It makes you so happy you might as well have it.”  
Barry could barely think of what to say. He swiftly moved in front of Len. He nearly went in for a hug but, considering Len had been too unsure to even hold his hand, he thought it might be a bit too soon. Instead he softly placed his hands in Len’s. “Thank you.”  
If Barry could have seen Len’s face beneath the fur, he was certain he would have seen Len blush. After a quick second he looked away and puffed out his chest more as though to cover up his blushing. Barry couldn’t help but smile. The Len he saw by daylight seemed an almost polar opposite to the one he had seen only a day ago. Maybe things were looking up for both of them.

 

Iris and Lisa spied through the doorway and saw Barry and Leonard holding hands before Barry began racing between different bookshelves, Len leaning against another wall laughing. The ladies shared a look and smiled at one another.  
“I knew Lenny liked him.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SO MUCH LEN POV I love him and it has been so Barry centric I needed some Snart ;) Also here we see the moment that set all ladies expectations: Get you a man who will buy you a library. Lenny is crushing harder than a twelve year old.  
> Please leave a comment or kudos and Enjoy!


	8. Something There

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Barry and Len find something there that wasn't there before.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i have no impulse control and wrote more I'm sorry. I'm revising and writing more as a way to reward myself. Also pls let me know if there's spelling/grammar errors, I hate reading my own writing. ENJOY!

Their agreement to put their first meeting behind them and start anew seemed to bring out the best in both of them. Leonard was coming out of his wing much more now that he had Barry to watch over. Lisa would always say he was spending time with Barry because he cared far more than he would like to admit, but Len said it was simply platonic. They were friends. She didn’t buy it for a second.  
Barry was quickly showing Len that he had a softer side he didn’t want to own up to. They sat in the gardens as small flakes of snow trickled down when Lisa spied them from a window.  
Barry was reading one of the books from the library. His library, he supposed. Len had given him an entire library and he still couldn’t fully comprehend why. Letting him borrow some would have been kind enough, but this was probably the sweetest thing someone had done for him. He’d been laughed at in town for spending so much time reading books and learning that finding someone to read with him was so new. He felt less alone than he had in a long time.  
Len growled next to him and Barry put his book down to see what was going on. Len was sat on the floor next to the bench Barry was on, glaring at birds. Barry had suggested that they go feed the birds in the winter weather, but where Barry was successful, Len had scared them off. He now sat in the snow, watching them and sulking. Barry gently laid his book on the bench and moved to sit on the ground next to Len.  
“You’re growling to yourself. Again.”  
Len growled. Barry laughed.  
Barry took a couple seeds from Len’s paw and sprinkled them on the snow in front of them. “You just need to be a bit more careful with them.”  
“Easy for you to say. They like you.” Len wasn’t bothered about impressing birds. It was about feeling approachable. He couldn’t talk without growling like an animal or touch things without scratching them with claws. He couldn’t do things with Barry if he was still acting like a monster. It seemed the birds weren’t helping.  
“Here.” Barry placed his hand over Len’s. “Just flatten your palm and stay still.”  
Len was about to comment how his fault wasn’t in his technique but in his appearance, when a small bird flew over for seeds. Barry smiled from ear to ear at being right and watched the little bird slowly peck at seeds. Len just watched Barry. He was beginning to struggle with denying how he felt about Barry.  
Once the small bird in his hands flew away, he brushed the rest of the seeds off his hands onto the snow. Then he felt something hit his back. He looked behind him to see Barry snickering to himself, holding another snowball. He hadn’t played in the snow since he was a child with Lisa.  
Barry was about to throw another small one when started making one double the side. Barry barely dodged it and went racing to a tree to hide behind, laughing.  
Lisa rolled her eyes as they began throwing snowballs like children. She hadn’t seen Lenny this happy in a while. Then she heard someone climb up to the windowsill she was on.  
Cisco looked over at the pair in the garden. “This isn’t what I thought a romantic afternoon would look like, but they’re having fun so I’ll take it as a win.”  
“I told you they would work it out. I know my brother.” Lisa smiled proudly before turning back to Cisco with a serious look. “We’re running out of time. I checked the rose while Lenny was out and we only have a few petals left.”  
Cisco crossed his metal arms and nodded. Though everyone was happier with Barry around to breathe new life into the castle, there was always the reminder of the curse eating away at their thoughts. “So what do we do, your majesty?”  
“We need them to fall in love, and quickly.” Lisa knew that Len was a smart ruler, but she was the better expert on love. She looked back out of the window and watched her brother smiling. “They both seem to be getting there, but a push would help. We just need to make the most romantic atmosphere ever.”  
Cisco sighed. “That sounds easy.”  
“I love a challenge.” She nodded to herself as the plans in her mind came together. Not wanting to waste time, she twisted round and jumped off the windowsill. As she started moving, she heard Cisco rush to follow her. Good, she thought, they would need all the help they could get.

 

The couple were in the middle of an evening meal when Lisa and Cisco decided to initiate the first phase of their romantic plan. Mick and Iris were in on the plan also. Lisa craned her head to look into the dining room from the kitchen and rolled her eyes. They were having soup and Len was so used to eating alone that he was eating without a spoon. Len hadn’t noticed but Lisa was fully aware that Barry was staring at him with an odd look. When he finally looked up to see both his sister and guest looking at him, he froze. He hadn’t needed to be polite usually. Barry went back to eating, unsuccessfully pretending not to have noticed, while Lisa pointed at his spoon. The siblings shared a glare between them before Len surrendered. Len picked up a spoon and decided to try and eat with cutlery for one of the first times in years. He found his hands too large, his claws in the way. His cursed form was getting in the way as usual.  
Then Barry put down his spoon. He decided it wasn’t worth someone going to trouble for him when he can help them. Len watched with a raised eyebrow as Barry instead picked up his bowl so he could eat like Len. Leonard tried in vain but gave in and smiled.  
As they continued their meal in this new way, Mick moved over to Lisa and stared at the other men. “Why are they drinking soup straight from the bowl?”  
Iris scooted past to begin the plan but whispered to Mick, “because that’s what you do when you love someone.”  
That seemed to confuse Mick even more, but Iris just moved into the room as they were finishing their meal.  
“Barry, have you seen the ballroom yet?”  
It would have been an innocent question in Len’s eyes, had he not seen Lisa’s smile as Iris asked. He’d learnt enough about Lisa to know when she was plotting. He narrowed eyes in suspicion and would have questioned Iris, but then he saw Barry’s face.  
“You have a ballroom?” His face lit up at the idea. He smiled at Len as though asking permission to see it. He knew what happened the last time he went where Len wasn’t comfortable having him.  
Leonard sighed. “I haven’t been in it in a while but if you’d like to see it we can.”  
“Excellent! I’ll lead the way!” Lisa didn’t waste anymore time and swiftly pushed Barry out of the room and towards the ballroom. Len followed behind with crossed arms, now certain that the suggestion wasn’t innocent. Lisa and Iris were up to something, he just couldn’t pinpoint what.

 

When Lisa opened the doors to the ballroom, the sight was breathtaking. Where the rest of the castle was cold and iced over, this room was shimmering in gold. It was as though the sun itself was a part of the glitter in the walls, giving the room a warmth and heart that was lost to the rest of the place. The ballroom was a circular space, with all the signs of beauty and wealth. The patterns on the floor were intricate swirls of white and gold like the dresses of the women that would have danced there. Chandeliers hung from the high-domed ceiling and columns of marble stood around the space. On the edges of the circular room was a slightly higher level, where people would watch the dancers, and where a grand piano stood gazing over the floor. On one end of the room was a large staircase, similar to the entrance of the castle, that branched off into the different castle wings. On the other end was glass doors that led to a balcony that overlooked the gardens where they had sat only earlier that day.  
It was grander than anything Barry had ever seen. It was a place out of a fairytale, one of the books from the library. Almost without thought, he moved into the room to see it closer, captivated by the way it shone. He turned on a spot in the centre of the room to see the whole of it, but his eyes stopped on Len and the others who stood in the doorway smiling at him.  
“It’s wonderful,” was all he seemed able to say. He continued to move around it, ending up next to the grand piano. He brushed his fingers against the ivory keys when the piano spoke back to him.  
“Getting a little friendly, aren’t we?”  
Barry turned bright red. “Oh-I’m sorry-”  
It seemed to laugh back. “Don’t worry about it. I get so few visitors.”  
“Stop teasing him, Hartley,” Len was then next to Barry at the piano. Barry hadn’t heard him move next to him. The piano, Hartley, just rolled his eyes.  
Barry found his eyes wandering back to the room around him. “I’ve never been to a ball before.”  
Len turned to Barry and wondered what he would think of them. Len had grown up with them. They had been a bore as a child and teenager, but a hive for all that should be avoided as an adult, at least the ones his father had hosted were. He’d been shoved towards many women in the hopes he’d find a wife. He had found them full of sycophants he ignored and the selfish rich that he hated to admit he was a part of. It was where you could show yourself to be better than everyone, and Len had enjoyed the splendor being a prince had given him. Now it was just a reminder of all that had gotten him cursed.  
To Barry, however, balls had been where people fell in love. The town hadn’t had the money to host one or anywhere grand enough for it, so he’d never had the opportunity to see everything the stories had described. They sounded like the places of fairytales: the men and women in their vibrant outfits, the soaring music, the dancing. A ball was a place for magic.  
“What are they like?”  
Len didn’t have the heart to tell him that he’d never properly enjoyed one, not one like Barry was expecting. He’d hosted very few and the ones he had hosted were stained with vile people and wasted money. They weren’t the stuff of Barry’s books. “They’re...different for everyone.”  
Barry didn’t know what to make of that answer. “Do you not like dances?”  
Len had enjoyed them as a younger man, but for all the wrong reasons. The attention, the gluttony, the fleeting passion. Everything he had enjoyed was gone by the next morning. They had never contained the romance that he expected Barry was picturing. He smirked at the idea. It was a nice thought that this room could have been a place to fall in love. “Guess I never had the right partner.”

 

“So _that’s_ what you were up to.”  
Len looked down at his sister and didn’t know what to make of her idea. The siblings walked down the corridors of the castle later that evening once Barry had decided to go to bed.  
“It’s perfect, right? You host your own little ball for Barry! Romantic candlelight, dancing, the perfect night!” Len rolled his eyes. However Lisa was giddy with the plan. “Then you confess your love.”  
He halted immediately. Lisa kept walking a few steps before she noticed that Len had stopped. She turned to look at him and saw the questioning look on his face. “Confess my what?”  
She sighed. she was done teasing and walking around the real question. “You love him, don’t you?”  
Leonard didn’t know what to say. He cared about Barry. He was friends with Barry, wanted to protect him, trusted him...He hadn’t yet wanted to accept anything further. Barry didn’t, couldn’t love him. Admitting that he himself did would feel like a defeat. “I don’t love anyone. That’s the point of the curse.”  
Lisa saw through his tone and dry wit to see his breaking confidence. All she could offer was a soft smile. She spoke lightly, as though if she spoke loudly, her brother would break. “Oh Lenny. That’s not the point at all.”  
Leonard was about to reply when he noticed that there was still light coming from the library. He was relieved to have a distraction. He walked over to the entrance, expecting Cisco or someone to have just left a candle burning, when he saw someone inside. Barry sat by the fire wrapped in a blanket with a book in hand. His head was hanging low and he was falling asleep. Regardless, he was determined to finish one more chapter of his book.  
“I know you like it here, but sleeping here might be overdoing it,” Len remarked, leaning in the doorway.  
Barry turned back to him with a yawn. “I was just going to put a book back and...lost track of time.”  
Len smirked at him before moving to sit by the fire with him. He could see that Barry’s eyes were struggling to remain open. He craned his head behind him to see Lisa gesturing with her head for Len to talk to Barry, most likely about the ball. He rolled his eyes. It was a silly idea, so he didn’t know why he found himself asking Barry about it.  
“I was thinking about how you said you’d never been to a ball before. Do you...want to have one?”  
Barry looked over at Len as though he didn’t understand. “Do you mean host a ball? Here?”  
Len nodded. “I know we’re the only two people here, but we have the space, clothes to wear. I’m not the best dancer but if you really wanted-”  
He stopped when he saw how Barry was smiling at him and gazing with sleepy eyes. “Len, that’d be amazing.”  
Leonard returned the smile. Barry couldn’t help but yawn as the late hour was catching up with him. He then closed his eyes and gave in, his head falling lightly against Len’s shoulder.  
Len froze. He waited for a second, not daring to move, but Barry remained softly sleeping. He didn’t want to disturb him and felt almost at a loss for what to do. People didn’t hug him. He wasn’t a hugger. Yet when he saw that the young man was not waking up anytime soon, he carefully moved his arm around his shoulder. Barry, lost in sleep, leaned closer into him, his smaller frame fitting nicely against Len’s.  
Leonard didn’t like admitting it, but there was something calming about having Barry at peace next to him. It reminded him of when Lisa was young and they would sit together on cold nights in the castle. It reminded him of simpler times, happier memories of before he became weighed down by the world.  
Once he was certain that Barry was completely asleep, he moved his free arm and hooked it under Barry’s legs so he could lift him. Barry rested his head against Len’s chest, a book still in his hand, as Len stood up to carry him back safely to his bedroom. With one arm round his shoulders and the other under his legs, Len walked with Barry sleeping in his arms back to the East Wing.  
Caitlin was there to open the door and though she was smiling at the sight, she didn’t tease him for it. He gently lay Barry down on the bed and pulled himself towards the door, leaving Caitlin to make sure he was safe for the night.  
He was going to begin the slow walk back to the furthest wing when he saw Lisa sitting on the table outside of Barry’s room, her feathers leaning over the edge like a dress. “I’m guessing we have a ball to plan tomorrow?”  
“I guess you were right.”  
She raised her eyebrows. “About the ball? Of course I was.”  
He smiled. Though it was hard to admit to himself, he meant she was right about his feelings for Barry. Regardless he simply answered, “Of course you were.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Has Barry been there a month or two days? How do you write for musical montages? Time is an illusion kiddos.  
> This is the sappiest thing ever and I hope you enjoy. Len is so in love with Barry wow what a sucker. You know what's next?......BALLROOM SCENE GET HYPED!!! Thanks for reading; your comments mean everything to me and this might be the first multi chapter fic I'll ever properly finish! YAY!


	9. Evermore

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I'll fool myself, he'll walk right in  
> And as the long, long nights begin  
> I'll think of all that might have been  
> Waiting here for evermore

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have no idea how to waltz but here is the dance scene. also Hunter is a jerk and Coldflash are romantic saps

Henry was packing a bag when there was a knock on the door. He had been all over town, desperate for someone to believe him and help him get his son back. No one had lifted a finger. There were some who wanted to help, like Linda who knew Barry from the small library in town, but didn’t want to risk Hunter’s wrath. He had personally made sure no one helped, through both bribes and occasionally threats.  
Henry eventually decided that if no one would help him, that he would have to go save Barry alone. When he heard someone at the front door, he hoped that it would be Barry. However, he was disappointed though not surprised when he found that it was just Hunter.  
“Evening Henry.” He leaned in the doorway, framed by the red of the evening sky. He craned his head to look inside the house and spied Henry’s bag on the main table. “Going somewhere?”  
“It’s none of your concern.” Henry tried to push the door closed but Hunter simply stretched out one arm and propped it open with ease.  
“Everything that happens in this town is my concern,” Hunter smiled down at the man, but it brought Henry no comfort.  
Hunter strode past Henry and into the home. It reminded him of the last time he was there, proposing to Barry. He had the same air of confidence, but now his malice was lurking closer to the surface.  
“I want you to leave, Hunter,” Henry wouldn’t have this man looking down at him in his own home.  
“You Allens aren’t very hospitable, are you?” The man stopped where he was wondering round the living room to turn and face Henry. “Speaking of, where is Barry?”  
“I told you and you laughed at me. Now leave.” Henry felt himself losing his patience. Every second he wasted on Hunter was another moment was alone with that monster. He pulled the door further open as a gesture for the man to leave when he noticed figures outside. There was Thawne and Merlyn, Hunter’s usual allies, but with them was Darhk. He sat on a cart from the asylum, one used to bring in new inmates. He knew the asylum had long ago become a place for anyone Hunter dislike, being now more like a prison. All the men looked back at him.  
“Hunter,” Henry slowly turned to look back at the man in question. He looked at Henry with a sly grin. He had enemies outside his house and within. “Why are you here?”  
Hunter crossed his arms over his chest and began to stride round the room. “The last time I was here, I came to ask your son to marry me. I offered him everything he could every want. Do you know what he said? No.”  
“Sounds like Barry to me,” Henry felt proud of Barry for standing up against him. He tried to return Hunter’s taunts with the same strength in his voice. Hunter only continued smiling.  
“He’s always been strong-willed. It’s part of what drew me to him.” The thought of Hunter looking at Barry that way made Henry want to throw up. Hunter stopped walking when he ended up in front of Henry, who was now certainly blocked in. “Here’s the problem. No one says no to me.”  
Henry refused to be intimidated. “My son isn’t anyone. He’d never marry someone he hates.”  
Hunter simply laughed. He gained a twisted glee from knowing how both father and son would suffer when they realize his plan.  
“Barry does hate me; he’s made that obvious. However, he loves you more than he hates me. He’d do anything to protect you.” Henry tried to back out of the house but felt the presence of the other men on the porch behind him. He was boxed in. “Shall we test my theory?”  
It was then that Henry realised what Hunter was planning. The asylum, the men blocking him in, it all started to make sense.  
Hunter looked behind Henry to him men and nodded. In a flash the men were grabbing Henry by each arm. He tried to fight back, throw the men off him, but it proved useless. He was outnumbered. 

 

“This is a stupid idea.”  
“Don’t say that!”  
“Sorry. You’re right. _This is the most stupid idea you lot have ever had.”_  
Leonard looked at himself in the mirror in one of the less demolished rooms in the West Wing and was certain that having a ball was incredibly stupid. Ray, a hatstand, had spend over an hour making Len look presentable while Cisco sat on a chair next to Len giving advice and pep talks. Len insisted that he didn’t need advice, not from Cisco anyway, but the man persisted.  
“You have no more time to doubt yourself. The rose has almost lost all it’s petals. You must be bold - daring!”  
“Saying a bunch of adjectives doesn’t make me them.”  
Cisco rolled his eyes and continued regardless. He had grown used to Len’s sarcastic comments long ago. “There will me music, romantic candlelight - provided by myself - and then when the time is right, you confess your love.”  
Len straightened the blue suit jacket he had been given. They had quickly sewn together a suit for him because none of his old royal outfits would fit his new form. Where he had once felt powerful, he thought he looked ridiculous. This was the last night the rose would live. It was now or never. And yet he still hesitated to think that Barry could love him.  
“I can’t”  
“You care about him don’t you?”  
Len mumbled his reply, “more than anything.”  
“Then you have to pull yourself together and tell him!” Cisco hesitated before adding, “there’s no other option.”  
Len wanted this to work. It had to work. Ray finished up brushing his hair when Mick cleared his throat at the door.  
“Ready when you are, Snart.”

 

Barry stood at the top of the stairs and felt butterflies. He had never expected to be able to dance in a ballroom like this, but time had proven that in had much more in store for Barry than he had ever expected.  
Len opened the door from the West Wing into the ballroom staircase and saw a figure stood on the level where the two branches met. Barry stood like and angel in his yellow suit and Len had to practically push himself out the door to overcome nerves.  
Barry looked up as Len moved down the stairs to join him. He had a blue suit with yellow lining to match his own. Barry couldn’t help but think that, despite being more wolf than man, Leonard looked grand. He stood tall, like a prince from a fairytale. The rest seemed to fall away. Barry didn’t see a beast, only someone he admired, cared for.  
Len reached him and, after taking a moment to simply look at Barry, stretched out his arm for Barry to take. They shared a look between them. It was as though, without words, Len was showing him how the courtiers would have danced in a real ball. Barry took his arm and the pair descended into the ballroom together.  
The ballroom itself was gorgeous. The night, as seen through the glass doors to the balcony, had turned dark but the room inside was a shimmering gold. The chandeliers were glowing a dark golden colour that left the room with an intimate atmosphere. Barry wasn’t sure when the piano music had begun, but a waltz was playing when the pair reached the centre of the room.  
Thinking back to the dances he had seen as a child, Len though Barry deserved the whole courting experience. He firstly bowed as a gentleman would, and Barry followed his example. There Len had to take a deep breath. Next was actually dancing. Luckily, Barry thought Len might hesitate to take his hand again. He remembered back to when his mother had taught him to dance as a child, in their small home in town. It wouldn’t be the same as the grand dances Len would know, but it was enough to take some initiative. He took Len’s right hand in his. Then he took Len’s left and gently moved it to his waist. He could tell he was blushing slightly at the touch, but seeing Leonard being just as nervous made it easier. Though the touch was intimate, he felt safe with Len’s arms around him. He looked up at his partner, ready for him to begin. He had been the guide in dances with his mother but, here with Len, he was happy for him to take the lead.  
Seeing Barry timidly smiling up at him gave Leonard enough confidence to move. It had been a long time since he had waltzed, but the pair seemed to soon get the hang of it as their feet turned round the floor. It became almost natural, gliding in time. Their moves flowed together without fault.  
Their eyes stayed on each other. It gave Len more confidence to test the waters. Len moved his hand away from Barry’s waist and Barry quickly but uncertainly moved his own from Len’s shoulder, as Len twirled him round with his right. It was unexpected but sweet, and Barry couldn’t help but giggle at the joy of it all. When their hands returned to position, they were pressed closer together than before. They moved with ease as any nervousness was removed.  
As they moved, Len’s hands moved to hold Barry closer. He knew what was coming but it still gave him a rush. His arms instinctively held tighter onto Len as he dipped him. It reminded him of a dance in a fairytale. He though he would be nervous but having Len as a partner brought him all the comfort he would need.  
Suddenly, Len pulled him up and lifted him unexpectedly off the floor, spinning him round and holding him as he had when he’d carried him from the library the night before. Barry panicked only for a second at the surprise, but found himself laughing as he was turned around.  
He eventually lowered Barry back down as the young man was still laughing to himself. Once he was on the ground in the waltz again, he felt such a warmth building up in his chest. He felt a happiness he never thought he would feel in this castle. Lost in the atmosphere, he found himself leaning in and resting his head against Len’s chest as they swayed.  
Len couldn't stop smiling as Barry looked so content to sway in his arms. From the corner of his eye he spotted Cisco and Lisa, with his other friends, silently cheering and smiling at him from on top of the piano. He couldn’t help but smile back at them.  
As the music began to fade, the pair’s movements slowed till they finally stood at the doors to the balcony, looking up at each other. The lights had dimmed since they had begun, but neither had noticed till then. Each slowly moved their arms back to their sides, not moving their eyes from one another.  
Then Len leaned out his arm, just as when they had begun, and Barry once again took it, as they walked out onto the balcony.

 

“Barry?”  
They sat in the moonlight with the garden stretched out before them. The snow had gotten less the longer Barry had stayed and now some green was visible on the hedges. Barry turned to Len. He took Barry’s hand in his, and Barry saw how the action had lost all its previous timidness.  
“Are you...happy here with me?” Len knew what he was supposed to now say, but it was easier to stall, just for a moment.  
“Yes,” Barry was surprised but certain of him answer. Coming to that castle, he had never expected to be happy there. Yet he was. He hadn’t been this happy since...being with his parents. He felt the smile drop off his face.  
“What’s wrong?” Len was immediately concerned.  
“I was thinking of my father. I haven’t seen him in so long. I just hope he’s alright.” He gave Len a sombre smile, not wanting to ruin the moment between them.  
Leonard hated to see Barry worry. He couldn’t help but feel responsible for Barry’s pain. He was the one that had parted them. He should make that right.  
“There is a way you can be sure.”

 

Len handed Barry the mirror. They stood in Len’s room in the West Wing, though now Barry was unafraid. It was almost the same, but Len had moved the rose before Barry had been able to see how close to death it was. Barry looked into the glass.  
“If you ask it, it will show you whatever you want to see.” Leonard found small comfort in the fact that the mirror he so hated, that he’d tried to smash apart many times before for his appearance, now could be put to good use.  
Barry looked hesitantly into the reflection. Of all the things he had seen in the castle, it was not hard to believe a magical mirror was possible. ‘I’d like to see my father. Please.”  
Then the mirror shone in the darkness and the image in the glass morphed. Barry felt his heart sink in his chest when he saw what was happening. His father was alive, but a prisoner. He was in chains in the centre of town with the people watching him. He was barely walking, mostly being dragged by men on either side of him who sneered at him and laughed in his pain.  
“No...they’re hurting him!” Len rushed over to see what Barry saw in the mirror. “The villagers have him in chains. He’s in pain, I-”  
Barry barely knew what to say. Len didn’t know what was best to do. He couldn’t leave this man when he had taken his son from him, but he couldn’t go into the town looking the monster he was. Even if Barry didn’t fear him anymore, the villagers would not hesitate to turn on him. No one in the castle was suitable to go, except Barry. His heart was heavy in his chest. He looked over and saw the fear in Barry’s eyes as he gazed in horror at his father’s pain. Len knew what had to be done.  
“You must go to him.”  
Barry was sure he must have heard wrong. “What?”  
Len couldn’t look Barry in the eye. He rested his hands on the table and tried to keep any emotion out of his voice. “I release you. You’re no longer my prisoner.”  
It had been a long time since he had felt like a prisoner in the castle, yet the thought of being a captive no longer lifted something off his shoulders. “You mean...I’m free?”  
Len nodded. He closed his eyes, thinking that to see Barry would make the situation more painful. However, he then felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned and saw Barry looking back at him, with such raw emotions in his eyes.  
“Thank you.” Barry gestured for Len to take the mirror but the beast refused.  
“You should keep it.” He stood straight so he could look at Barry properly. Barry’s eyes shone in the moonlight the way they had in the dungeon tower what felt so long ago. Len held Barry’s face in his hand and looked at him as though to memorize his face for the last time. “Then you’ll always have a way to look back...and remember me.”  
Barry didn’t see it as goodbye forever; in his eyes he would return. Yet here it felt like a final goodbye. He had no choice but to go, but he mourned for all he would leave behind. He didn’t know how to put into words everything he wanted to say to Len, everything he felt. All he could was what he had already said. “Thank you.”  
Barry rested his hand against Len’s paw where it lay on his cheek. It took all his might to bring himself to walk away, but he had to. He began to walk away, still holding Len’s hand to the last moment. He reached the door to the room and couldn’t fight the longing in his heart to turn back. He did. Len looked back and him and though neither spoke, their eyes met and said all that was not spoken.  
Then Barry, before tears could build in his eyes, turned away and began the journey back to the town that had once been home, and leaving the place that was his new home.

 

Len didn’t move from the balcony of his wing as Barry took a horse back to the town. He could see Barry as a pot in the distance, standing out in his yellow suit against a the night as though he was a light in the darkness, the last of the light in Len’s heart.  
“Lenny! You were amazing tonight! I told you-” Lisa bounded in with a spring in her step, but stopped when she saw how broken Len looked on the balcony. “Len, what’s wrong?”  
“I let him go.”  
It felt like a punch to the gut for both of them. Lisa couldn’t wrap her head around why. She wanted to be angry with him, but saw and felt his pain. “You did what? How? How could you do that?!”  
“I had to.” He spoke with coldness and an emptiness that she thought he had lost upon Barry’s arrival.  
“But...Why?”  
Len looked over the grounds of the castle and found no one out there anymore, only the darkness looking back at him. He knew the flower had wilted so much that he didn’t have till morning anymore, but he hadn’t been able to tell Barry that. He had to let Barry go, to put right all he had done in an attempt to make himself human.  
It hurt. He felt a pain in his chest where a warmth had once been. He couldn’t deny it anymore. “Because...I love him.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IM SO SORRY DON'T HATE ME PLS COMMENT YOUR PAIN SO WE CAN CRY TOGETHER  
> it only goes downhill from here folks!


	10. Kill the Beast

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Barry returns to town and is faced with a choice.

Barry raced through the woods around the castle once more to save his father. He told himself not to cry, that he could let in the pain once his father was safe. The town was easy to find that night, as the houses that would normally be lost in sleep at that hour were lit. Everything was awake and loud, as the villagers were gathered to hear the commotion. Henry was in the middle of town, blocked from running by a man on either side of him. Damien Darhk stood before a crowd of people, preaching of how their town must be purged of those who threatened their status quo. The people carried torches that lit the town with a shade of red, as though the buildings ithemselves was burning.  
Barry rode into the centre of town and found all eyes on him. He didn’t care though. He climbed down from his horse and barged in unafraid.  
“Leave him alone, Darhk! You have no right-” He tried moving straight to his father, but found him surrounded by Damien’s men.   
“Oh look. The man of hour finally arrives,” Ignoring the taunts, Barry rushed to Damien instead, refusing to back down.  
“Let my father go.”  
Darhk just laughed. He would have feigned concern, but there was too much glee to be found in making Barry struggle. “There’s nothing I can do Barry. The man’s mad. He ran through town claiming you had been taken by a beast! Everyone knows this is what’s best for Henry.”  
Barry looked out over the crowd of people and saw not one face that he could rely one. He knew that the people here were always falling victim to cruel men like Darhk, but he didn’t think that he would find himself alone. The expressions looking back at him were like stone; he desperately scanned over the crowd but found no one that would help him.  
The hope drained from Barry’s face and Darhk continued the plan. “Get Henry out of here.”  
The men began dragging Henry onto the cart to the asylum while he tried to call out to Barry. The young man felt people push him out of the way as he tried to get closer.  
Then a hand rested on his shoulder. He turned, prepared to fight them off, and found that it was Hunter. He looked concerned as he held Barry back.   
“Barry, I’m so sorry. Your father doesn’t deserve this.” He made sure to sound as though he had no hand in the events before them. He let the people push past them so he and Barry were out of sight from the main crowd. If he made himself appear as a friend, Barry might be more inclined to accept a deal with the devil.  
Barry didn’t think Hunter would be a comforting sight, but having someone show the same concern he did was comfort enough. Lost in the adrenaline of the moment, he grabbed Hunter by the shoulders, falsely thinking he had found a friend. “You know he’s not crazy, right?”  
“Of course. I may be able to speak to Damien and get Henry released.” Hunter tried not to show it in his expression, but he found a morbid bliss in having Barry so desperate for his help. He slowly let his hands lay on Barry’s waist, though the younger man didn’t register it. His thoughts were only worrying for his father. “If...”  
It threw Barry off-guard for a moment, but he’d learnt long ago that he would do whatever it takes to save his father. “If what?”  
“If you marry me.” 

It was like a slap to the face. His mind stopped racing with fear and he saw what was really happening. Hunter was now smiling at him, with darkness in his eyes and his hands on Barry’s waist where Len’s had been not long ago. It made him sick in his stomach. Hunter knew exactly what he was doing, and he was enjoying his turmoil.  
“Did you know this would happen?” Barry felt he knew the answer but asked anyway. Hunter just continued to look down at him with a devilish grin. “Did you _plan_ this?”  
Barry saw his answer in the way that there was no remorse in Hunter’s eyes. He didn’t care for his father, for him, or for anything. Barry couldn’t stand to look at him anymore and moved his hands to Hunter’s chest so he could push him away, but the other man was stronger and gripped onto Barry tighter.  
“I asked nicely and you said no. Anything that happens to your father now, happens because of you.”   
“Let me go!” Barry kept trying to get Hunter off him while the man just looked at him like Barry already belonged to him. Barry decided he had had enough. With all the might he could muster, he slapped Hunter and used the shock from Hunter to push the man off him and stumble back. He looked back to Hunter and both men stood on edge. Hunter was smiling no longer.  
Barry turned to go after his father, but before he could move anywhere, Hunter grabbed his wrist with a grip so hard it felt as though he would crush bone. Barry tried not to show that it hurt, but instead looked Hunter in the eye to try and appear unafraid.   
“It doesn’t have to be like this, Barry. You can have your father back, safe and sound, you just have to marry me and all your worries will go away.” Hunter pulled Barry closer, but Barry wasn’t paying attention to his taunts anymore. He was trying to pry his wrist free from Hunter’s grip. When he saw that Barry wasn’t listening in favor of escaping, he grabbed Barry’s chin and forced him to look up at him. When he spoke it wasn’t with promises of safety. “Marry me or I’ll make your father’s life a living Hell.”  
Barry looked up at Hunter and saw how all the humanity in his eyes were gone. He couldn’t leave his father to this fate, but he knew that making a deal with Hunter would never work. He would threaten his father whenever he wanted something from Barry. Hunter had no honour, Barry questioned if he ever did. He would help prove his father sane, but he wouldn’t use Hunter to do it. “The only Hell I can think of is being married to you.”  
In a flash, Barry raised his knee and kicked Hunter in the shin. Hunter wasn’t expecting it and his moment of shock gave Barry a big enough window to use his free hand and push himself away. Without wasting another moment, he ran back into the crowd and found where his father had been thrown into the asylum cart.   
“My father’s not insane, and I can prove it!”  
Everyone’s attention was on Barry again. Darhk looked over to Thawne and Merlyn as though to ask what to do next. They didn’t expect Barry to have any genuine proof though.   
Barry didn’t want to have to do this. Seeing it as the only way, he pulled out the mirror from inside his suit jacket. “Show me Len.”  
The image in the mirror morphed and changed to show Len, though Barry didn’t allow himself to look at him before he turned the glass to show the mob. Immediately he saw exactly what he was worried would happen. The crowd were horrified at the image in Barry’s hand, some hiding their face and others looking closer. From all over the mob he heard people yelling.   
“You don’t have to be afraid! He wouldn’t hurt anyone” Barry tried to reassure them but had little hope that it would work. He turned the mirror in his hand so he could see the face inside, but it brought back only the painful reminder that he had left. Len looked heartbroken and Barry felt a pain in his chest knowing that he was the cause of his sorrow. He spoke, but the words became more for himself that for the crowd. “He’s kind and gentle and -”   
Then, as he looked through the mirror, he felt it get ripped from his hand by Hunter. Barry held his breath, not knowing how his enemy would react to seeing Len. He hoped that he wouldn’t do anything drastic, but he was not so lucky.  
‘It’s a beast!” He turned the mirror to the crowd who coiled back in fear.  
“No!-” Barry tried to speak to the people around him who were clearly growing more afraid by the minute. “He’s not what he seems. He’s my friend-”  
Hunter scoff at the sentiment, still gripping the mirror in his hand. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you cared about this monster.”  
“He’s not a monster, Hunter.” Now Barry was really angry. In his eyes, Len was a better man that Hunter could ever be, cursed or not. “You are.”  
He could hear the crowd gasp and mutter to themselves. No one in this town had the guts to fight back against Hunter on anything. It had once been a trait that made Hunter want to marry him, now it was what stood in the way of all his plans. The pair locked eyes, an unspoken battle between them. Hunter saw that there would be no way to make Barry fear him like this, so he would have to teach him why he should.  
“The monster’s got Barry under his spell!” Hunter turned to the crowd. He couldn’t manipulate Barry, but the towns people would easily follow him. “We can’t let this creature live, can we?”  
Immediately people began to rally behind him. Some raised their torches and called out how they should find this beast. Hunter continued to rally their support with false fears of how this beast would destroy their homes, murder them and their families. He turned at Barry with a devilish grin and Barry saw that he wasn’t just turning people against Len, but also against himself. Barry was outnumbered.  
“We can’t have Barry running off to warn the monster.” Barry looked to Hunter once more, still on edge, but he knew that Hunter was winning. “Lock him up with his father.”  
He tried to run, but Hunter’s men were on him immediately. He was violently grabbed on either side by men, though he tried to kick and fight them off. It proved futile as the men dragged him backwards and threw his body in the asylum cart. The only comfort was his father who was inside with him and helped him up immediately. There wasn’t enough room to stand, but Barry grabbed onto the barred window to see Hunter rallying people to his cause.  
“We can’t let this monster wander free! I say we kill the beast!”  
His words were greeted with thunderous cheers as the people viewed him as their hero. He wasted to time and began passing out orders to the people gathered there: Some collected weapons for a fight while others lit torches for the journey. The air buzzed with adrenaline as the people prepared for battle.  
Hunter watched his army form with sadistic glee at how they would do anything he asked of them. He then turned back to the one person who wouldn’t. He leaned one arm against the cart where Barry and his father were locked away and smiled at how Barry was trying to pull the bars out of their sockets to escape but to no avail.  
“Oh Barry. Maybe once this creature you care for is dead, you’ll finally learn not to mess with me.” Barry hated knowing that Hunter was doing this, not simply because of Len’s seemingly monstrous appearance, but because Barry cared for him. “Don’t worry though. You will see him again.”  
Hunter leaned in closer so no one around could hear him. This taunt would be for Barry alone. “I’ll bring you back his head as a wedding gift.”  
Barry’s blood ran cold. Hunter was barely human anymore. He was so obsessed with complete power over everyone that he had lost everything else in his attempt to get it. Barry couldn’t say anything that would make him change his mind. There was no humanity left to appeal to.  
Hunter saw the fear in Barry’s eyes and felt even more determined to kill this monster. He turned back to the mob that was forming, pitchforks raised and torches blazing. “Now’s the time for action boys! We’re not coming home till he’s dead!”

 

“What do we do now?”   
Lisa looked at her friends and felt helpless. Breaking the news to them that Leonard had let Barry go had broken all their spirits, leaving no real hope of breaking their curse. They looked between each other, hoping someone from their group would still have some of their usual optimism and a plan, but no one knew what to say.  
“Iris!” Bounding in from around the corner, Wally raced as fast as a teacup could to find the group gathered in the kitchen. He skidded across the floor and landed next to his sister. “We have a serious problem.”  
“I know Wally. But with Barry gone I don’t what we can do-”  
“No, not that! We’re under attack!” Wally began running back the way he came, to find a window looking over the entrance. The group looked between each other before all simultaneously deciding to check it out.   
As they stood by the window, the lights from the torches of the townsfolk could be seen moving closer from the darkness of the night. Shouts began to erupt from the trees as the people drew closer to the castle.   
“Why are they here?” Cisco leaned one of his candles closer to the window.   
Lisa looked over the horizon and realized that she still had some fight in her left. “It doesn’t matter. We can’t let them get it. We’ve got to warn Lenny.”  
She began racing back through the castle and the others looked between each other. If she could keep going, so could they.  
“We should barricade the door,” Mick decided and wasted no time making his way through the castle to rally everyone together. They would need all the help they could get. “If they want a fight, then that’s what they’ll get.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Isn't Hunter just the most awful person ever? Sorry for the angst   
> Now that I'm approaching the end of my exam season (and this fic) I thought I'd ask now what people want next? I'm enjoying doing Disney AUs for Coldflash and might do a series of them starting with this one. So what would people like first?
> 
> Tangled AU (Barry as the magical lost prince and Len as the suave criminal who helps him follow his dreams)  
> The Little Mermaid AU (Barry as a mermaid who falls for human prince Len and must make a deal to be with him)  
> Robin Hood AU (Len is a loveable rogue stealing from the rich to give to the poor and Barry is his forbidden love)  
> Hercules AU (Barry is a demigod hero and Len is the sarcastic outsider who sold his soul to Hades)  
> Sleeping Beauty AU (Barry is a cursed prince and Len is the charming stranger he meets in the woods)  
> Cinderella AU (I can't decide who to give which part to yet, both ways would work!)
> 
> I'll probably do all of these at one point (I love disney and coldflash okay) and maybe Princess and the Frog and Anastasia but I'll have to rewatch those movies for plot. xxx


	11. It's a Nightmare but it's One Exciting Ride

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The battle arrives at Len's door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one's shorter than normal but we're beginning the final showdown now!!!

“Barry, you’re going to hurt yourself if you keep doing that.”  
Barry had half his arm squeezed through the gap between the bars on the cart and was trying to figure out the lock for the third time. His hands were already raw from trying to pull at the bars in the hope one might come apart, but he’d had no luck. He was debating whether running at the door would work any better.  
“Barry, you’re not going to get us out that way-” Henry calmly tried to get Barry to stop, but the young man was still in a state of panic.  
“Well I have to get out some way!” He pulled his arm out from between the bars and slumped back into the cart opposite his father. His eyes darted over the rest of their prison in the hope that he might see something to get them out. “I got Leonard into this mess and I won’t leave him now.”  
The mention of his old captor reminded Henry of something he’d been wondering since Barry had turned up out of nowhere to help him. “How did you escape?”  
“Len let me go.”   
“Len?”   
It felt natural to talk about his friend like that, but all his father knew of Leonard was the beast that imprisoned his son. “His name is Leonard and I know it sounds crazy, but he’s changed. He’s not like the person you met. He let me go so I could help you.”  
Henry didn’t see how the beast he met could come to be a good person, but he knew that Barry had that affect on people.   
“There’s got to be a way out of here,” Barry turned back to the bars and decided on a different strategy of escape. He knew many people had gone to the castle but there should still be people around to potentially help them. He started shouting for someone to help, though he knew most wouldn’t go against Hunter.   
“Barry, maybe there isn’t a way to-”  
“There has to be!” He was in denial that there was no way for him to break himself free. Maybe he hadn’t tried everything, maybe there was something he could use to get himself out, maybe-  
“You need to calm down, son.”  
“They’re gonna kill him!” Barry was afraid. He couldn’t calm his breathing. He refused to sit still. he’d been holding back tears since he’d left Len, but he couldn’t let his emotions get the upper hand just yet.  
Henry placed his hands on Barry shoulders and it helped to ground Barry’s emotions. His breaths became gradually more stable as he focused on it.  
“Barry. You can’t help him if you panic. We’ll find a way to save him.” He didn’t know if he believed that the beast he had seen was now good, but he saw how much he meant to Barry and knew he had to help. When Barry cared for someone, he did it with all his heart, and Henry could easily see how much Barry cared about Leonard.  
The pair were then interrupted by a figure at the bars.  
“Barry?”  
He knew that voice. He looked out the small window to see Linda holding one of the few remaining weapons in the town: a woodsman’s axe.  
“Are you both okay?”  
“We’re fine but we need to get out of here.”   
Linda warned them to move back and lifted the axe over her head. Barry and Henry quickly shuffled to the back of the cart to avoid a collision. Though she was small, managed to smash through the cart lock and heave open the door. The men quickly climbed out of their prison with Linda’s help.  
“I wanted to help earlier, but I needed to make sure Hunter was gone.” She bit her lip. She struggled to look the men in the eye, but had to make an apology. “He threatened to burn down the library if I helped you. I’m sorry-”  
Barry placed a hand on her shoulder as reassurance. The tension in her body seemed to relax. “Hey, we forgive you. You’ve been the only person willing to help us.”  
“Others wanted to, I’ve spoken to them, but Hunter’s got everyone under his thumb. They trust you, but they fear him too.”  
It was a sad reality, but Barry understood that sometimes the right thing isn’t the easy thing. “It’s okay, Linda, but right now I need to get back to the castle.”

 

The whole castle shook. The villagers, led by Hunter, had a large tree trunk as a battering ram and were trying to burst through the doors to the castle. Rain had begun to fall, an ominous sign of a storm on the horizon. The servants were trying to barricade the door but had little success. Caitlin was using her weight as a wardrobe while moving tables and chairs were also taking the weight of the door. Laurel and Sara were poised with swords at the ready and Ray was running between rooms to warn the rest of the household. Everyone was rallying together.  
“This isn’t working!” Mick yelled to Cisco over the booming sound of the wood against the door. Cisco and Mick were too small to make much difference on the door, they needed all the help they could get.   
The Cisco had a thought. “Mick! I’ve got an idea!”  
Mick turned to him and gave him a look that, despite their situation, showed what he thought of Cisco’s ideas. “How stupid is it?”  
“Pretty stupid.”  
Mick knew Cisco usually had ridiculous plans, but though he didn’t like admitting it, they worked out well in the end. Eventually. he sighed. “Well, things can’t get worse.”

 

Lisa reached the West Wing as fast as she could to warn her brother before the invaders arrived at the door. She ran into his room and found him by the balcony, staring at the rose on the table in front of him as though waiting for the petals to fall.  
“Lenny! We’re under attack! People from the village are at the door with a battering ram and weapons and-”  
She stopped when she saw no reaction from him. He didn’t move, just continued to look at the flower.  
“Are you even listening?” She marched over to him. Leonard was tactical, a fighter, so she didn’t understand where that fight had gone. “We’re under attack! You’re just gonna stand there?”  
He didn’t see the point in much else. They were coming for him, they had no reason to invade otherwise. There wasn’t enough time left to break the curse with Barry gone for good, and even if there was someone to love him, they wouldn’t be Barry. His heart would always be with him.  
“Just let them come Lisa.”  
Everyone around her was giving up. She felt invisible, but refused to be ignored. “I know Barry left, but that’s no reason to let them kill you! You have other things to live for!”  
She saw no more reaction, only emptiness, and decided to pull herself onto the table with the rose so her brother would have to look at her.  
“Are we not worth living for?”  
He finally looked over at her. She looked back up at him, desperate for him to find something in this world to hold onto. He loved his sister, she was one of the only things he did love. So he hated that she was cursed because of him.  
He’d wondered before if his death would free the others. It made sense in his mind, a logical solution if finding love didn’t work. They were only cursed because of him; without him they could go back to their normal lives. If it would free Lisa and end his pain, it would be worth it, no strings attached. “You’re worth dying for.”

 

The doors to the castle finally gave in and were thrown open to reveal just that: an empty castle. Hunter saw no one inside. The entrance was filled with only furniture, tables and chairs, plates and cups, even a wardrobe. He stood at the front of the group and moved gradually forward into the dimly lit entrance, waiting for something to happen. There was an eerie silence that surrounded them and left all who entered on edge. Hunter’s eyes scanned the room but found no beast lurking. He picked up a nearby candlestick to get a better look around.  
Then he thought it moved.   
Before he could register what was happening, the candlestick spoke.  
“ATTACK!”  
The castle suddenly lit up and the furniture sprung to life.   
Suits of armor were moving with no one inside and shattering weapons with their swords. Pons and pans were flying through the air to hit people and ring people’s heads like bells. A wardrobe was using its doors to smack those that passed it and pulling out drawers to trip them over. Even a tea cup was sending plates spiraling to collide with people while the teapot next to it shot boiling water.  
Hunter barely knew where to look as people began screaming, when the candlestick in his hand thrust forward to smack his metal edge into Hunter’s face. He yelled out and dropped the candlestick to hold his face in his hands. He gritted his teeth through the pain as the candlestick laughed and moved onwards to another man to fight.   
Hunter ignored the ringing in his ears and looked around for a way out of the carnage. Everywhere on this floor was covered in household objects attacking with full force. If he wanted to find this beast, he’d have to search the rest of the castle.   
Pushing his way through flying cutlery and past living furniture, he managed to reach the stairs leading further into the castle. Wasting no more time, he moved off into the dark depths of the castle, beginning his search for the monster.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's all happening now!  
> Thanks for all the replies on my last chapter! The most popular fics to do next are Tangled and Robin Hood with Anastasia, The Little Mermaid and Hercules being next. People have also suggested Aladdin, Snow White, Mulan, Frozen and the Road to El Dorado which I have added to my list of fics to write. It's a very long list XD


	12. As the Sun Will Rise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Petals falls and time runs out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is longer than usual cus I couldn't cut this in a way that wouldn't make you hate me.
> 
> If you want pain, do what i did while writing it and listen to Say Something at the same time as reading 'that moment' we all know is coming. it'll cause so much angst

When Barry reached the castle, it was in chaos. People were rushing past him in fear to escape the last of the battle inside. Despite their fear he continued forward. After throwing off his yellow suit jacket, he wasted no time in jumping off his horse and running into the castle.  
The battle inside was crazy, but being won by the force of furniture. He saw his new friends battling back against the villagers with any means necessary. Hartley was firing piano keys, Cisco was setting people’s cloaks on fire, Laurel and Sara were sword-fighting anyone brave enough to face them, but he couldn’t see Len.  
“Barry!” He looked up to see Lisa yelling to him from the top of the stairs. The pair raced over to meet each other amongst the violence and met at the bottom of the stairs.  
She didn’t waste any time; she knew why Barry was here. “Len’s in the West Wing still. I can’t get him to go! You have to find him!”  
He knew the castle like the back of his hand now. He raced past her and began rushing up the stairs and through the corridors leading to the West Wing. If he knew anything about Hunter, it’s that he had no mercy. Barry was running out of time.

 

It took time, but eventually Hunter found what he had been looking for. He saw the beast stood on the balcony, the storm around him, and his fingers slowly unhooked a pistol from his belt. He edged in but the creature made no move. It stood with hunched shoulders looking over the balcony at the forest in the distance, as though he was waiting for something beyond. Hunter cocked his gun.  
The click finally caught Len’s attention. He turned his gaze from the forest to Hunter. He stood with his gun aimed at Len, a smile on his face. Len knew someone would find him eventually. He looked the man in the eye before turning away, waiting for it to be over.  
Hunter was expecting a fight, not a creature, broken and accepting defeat. He didn’t find it pitiable though, he just found it pathetic.  
“You’re the beast everyone’s so afraid of? How disappointing.”  
Len didn’t care what this man thought of him. Long ago he would have torn Hunter to shreds for coming close to him, now he had no cruelty left, nothing left.  
Hunter moved closer, seeing to attempt from the beast to fight back. It would make his victory easier, but part of him wanted to see it in pain further. Simply killing him would be boring, especially when it wouldn’t fight back. It had to have a weakness. He thought of how Barry had called it kind and gentle, and saw the weakness he had been hoping for.  
“My name’s Hunter Zolomon,” he stood alongside the beast, the gun between them. He wanted so see the monster’s face. “My fiancé, Barry, sent me.”  
_Barry._ Len knew it had to be a lie, but it still felt like a dagger to the heart to hear it. He understood if Barry didn’t love him, but the man he knew would never send someone to kill him. Barry was pure at heart, maybe the only person left who was.  
Len’s face was all Hunter needed to see to know that Barry’s care for Len wasn’t one sided. The monster hadn’t shown any reaction till hearing Barry’s name. He looked even more broken.  
“Were you in love with him, beast?”  
When Len couldn’t look him in the eye at the question, Hunter wanted to laugh. The monster loved Barry. The idea was ridiculous to him, a perfect pain to taunt. “Did you honestly think he’d want you?”  
Len wondered if the stranger was right. He was a monster: cruel, ugly, unforgiving. Barry was the opposite, all he could never be. He thought of Barry crying on the windowsill of his dungeon window. He thought of him when he first came to the West Wing and how he had terrified him. He only stayed with Len because he had to. Why would he ever want to be with him? And yet, Barry had sat with him after the wolf attack. He’d smiled when he saw the library and laughed when Len tried to feed the birds; he’d held his hand. He thought of holding him in the ballroom, how he’d looked like an angel in gold, smiling up at him like being at his side was where he belonged. He didn’t know if Barry wanted him, and in that way it didn’t matter, because he would love him regardless.  
Then a bullet hit him.

 

Barry heard the gunshot and his heart sank. He raced to the door of Len’s room only to see Hunter pushing Len over the edge of the balcony.  
He acted on instinct and raced over to the balcony. He shoved Hunter out of his way, not caring to even register his presence, and clung to the edge of the balcony to look over as far as possible. He was vaguely aware that he was screaming Len’s name over the balcony. He looked round desperately and soon saw Len on one of the lower rooftops of the castle, moving. Len was wounded, kneeling more than standing, but he didn’t seem to hear him. Barry could only be relieved to see him alive for a second.  
Then a pain rushed through his skull as Hunter harshly grabbed a handful of his hair. He yelled out in pain and Hunter dragged him away from the balcony. He eventually let go and threw Barry down onto the floor as the rain raged around them.  
“I offer you _everything_ and you choose this monster?!” As Barry tried to pull himself off the stone floor, Hunter itching to kill him on the spot. Barry was prepared to fight if he had to, so he slowly pulled himself up and clenched his fists at his side. He stood on edge, ready to fight.  
Hunter debated it. He could kill him here and finally remove this thorn from his side, but it seemed to easy. He thought he could easily overpower Barry in a fight. It was letting him die that felt easy. If he wanted Barry to suffer for being in his way for so long, he would have to keep him alive. Death was too easy for him, living would be the greater pain. Besides, he had a different monster to vanquish tonight.  
“You will marry me,” he assured him. If that was Barry’s Hell, as he had said, then that’s what he would get. “And that creature’s head will hand on our wall.”  
Barry was done with his taunts. He gathered his strength and punched Hunter across the jaw. It made his knuckles sting, but was worth it to hurt the man who had hurt him and Len. He went for another punch but Hunter was ready for it and was able to block it with his forearm.  
The pair began to fight and Hunter wasn’t prepared for Barry to match him in strength. Barry though was used to being underestimated and was able to hold his own for a while, until Hunter managed to get the better of him. He smacked Barry’s head into one of the castle walls enough to make him lose consciousness and the young man felt everything go black. He went limb and Hunter didn’t bother to move Barry’s body from where it laid in the rain.  
Hunter turned back to look over the balcony and saw the beast getting up from where he was on a lower battlement. It scanned his environment before making his way down the side of the tower.

 

Len’s shoulder was stained red. He was trying to get up again, power through, though there was little point. He didn’t know why his opponent was drawing this out as he seemed to be.  
He heard feet hit the rain-covered ground behind him. He turned round despite the pain and saw Hunter standing with a bruised jaw. There was nothing but murder in his eyes looking back at him.  
He tried to get up, thinking he could at least die with more dignity than this. Hunter didn’t seem inclined to even give him that, as he strode over dealt him a forceful kick to the stomach. It hurt, but when Len would try to get up, Hunter would kick him back to the floor.  
“Fight back!” Hunter was boiling over with rage, impatient with both the monster and the young man left on the balcony. He wanted Barry to yield and the boy wouldn’t; he wanted the monster to fight back and give him a heroic victory, but the beast would not fight back. Nothing was as he wanted. He gave another sharp kick to Len’s stomach. “Are you too kind and gentle to fight back?!”

 

Barry soon returned to consciousness and first felt the cold. The rain was beating down on his body and it reminded him of when he was lost in the snowy forests long ago. His head was swimming and his limbs shaky with the cold, but he wasn’t sure how long he had been out. He had to get to Len, if he could. He pushed himself off the soaked stone floor with shivering arms and used a hand to support himself as he got to his feet. He looked around but found no sign of Hunter on the balcony, till he heard something.  
He managed to move over to the balcony and he clung to the edge as he looked out for Len. The storm was raging round him and the darkness was painting the sky, making hard to pierce through and see anything. Luckily, he found Len, his white fur standing out in the midst of darkness, his light. A weight was lifted off his shoulders for a second when he saw that he was still alive, there was still time. He didn’t know if he could get down with his limbs still struggling to keep him up, but he had to do something, let Len know that he wasn’t alone. So he did what he thought was one of his only options, and screamed.

“Len!”  
His heard his name through the roar of the weather and stopped. He knew that voice. He looked up to where the sound was coming form, and saw Barry on the balcony. His hair was wet and sticking to his forehead and he was pale with the cold, but his eyes shone with life and fear.  
Barry came back. they locked eyes for only a second in the darkness, but it was enough. Barry came back. It was all the hope he needed to push back.  
Hunter was about to punch him when he caught the man’s fist in his paw. Despite the pain still coursing through his body, he had enough strength to crush the man’s hand. Hunter yelled out in pain and the crunch of his bones could be heard. Len had the upper hand. He managed to gradually stand at his full height and look over at his enemy, now near to twice the size of the man. With ease he managed to push Hunter back with one arm and the man tumbled back and landed on the soaked ground.  
Now Hunter was the one in fear and Len had anger rising in his chest. He easily managed to grab the smaller man by the throat. He moved with the man squirming in his claw, to the edge of the stone surface of the castle they were on, and hang him over the edge, from here there was nowhere to land but the harsh stone dirt beneath. If he fell, there would be no getting up.  
“Let me go!” Hunter was desperate. He grabbed onto Len’s arm as it choked him and he felt the sharp sting of the creature’s claws against the flash of his neck. “I’ll do anything, just let me go!”  
Len had enough rage, was in enough pain, that he nearly let him fall without a care. He had killed before. It would be easy to let his guts decorate the castle grounds. Yet, through the haze of the rain and his own anger, he saw Hunter’s fear. He was afraid. He didn’t see simply the man’s begging, and desperate eyes, he saw himself reflected back at him. He saw the same pride, lack of compassion, brutality, that he had had when he was cursed. He saw what had earned him his curse, and pitied him. He heard his own voice in Hunter’s begging, and knew that he had lost the cruelty he needed to kill him without a care. It wasn’t clear to him if Hunter really deserved it, but he decided to give him the mercy he had been denied. He pulled him away from the ledge and then dropped his grip on his throat, letting the man fall to the stone floor at his feet.  
“Get out.”  
Hunter sat panting as the air returned to his lungs. His hand laid on his throat where Len’s claws had just been. He couldn’t look Len in the eye.  
“Don’t come back,” Len growled low as a warning. He would let him live, but not stomach him in his castle, not after all he might have done to Barry, to his friends. The man remained on the ground, but made no act of defiance. It was a silent acceptance.

Without the anger to push him forward, Len was feeling the pain and weakness in his body return. He looked back up to where Barry was on the balcony and saw his love looking back at him with a small smile. He was proud of him.  
Len pushed past the sting in his shoulder and the blood coating his arm and began to climb back up the side of the castle. He was at least grateful for his form in this sense, that he could climb up easier with claws to sink into the stone. He struggled to pull himself up as his blood loss was beginning to take more effect, but had to get back to Barry.  
Barry himself leaned as far as he could safely over the balcony so he could grab onto Len as soon as he could and help pull him up with whatever strength he had left. Once Len was close enough, Barry grabbed onto him and began to pull as much as he could. Working together, Len managed to reach Barry’s side on the balcony.  
“You came back,” was all Len could manage to say. Barry standing in front of him, looking back at him with the same love in his eyes was something he didn’t think he’d ever get to see. Barry wanted to reach out and hold him, but didn’t want to hurt him further.  
Then a gunshot sounded and a bullet shot through Len’s side. he roared out in pain and fell to the ground, though Barry was there and grabbed him the second he lost his balance. Barry sat with him lying in pain in his arms, red blood staring to show at his side through his shirt.  
Hunter was on the same platform where he had been left, stood on the edge so he could hit Len best. As soon as the bullet left his gun, the backfire send pain rushing through his hand where it had been crushed by Len moments ago. He dropped the gun as though it was burning him and clutched his hand in pain. Then he lost his balance. His foot caught on the edge of the stone he was standing on, and with the rain making the floor impossible not to slip on, he slipped. Before he could do anything, his feet skidded backwards and over the edge. With a final scream he fell, and there was nothing to stop him from falling into the darkness to hit the jagged ground.

 

“Len! Len, please stay with me.”  
Barry was trying to stop the bleeding but despite how hard he tried and how red his hands became, Len’s condition didn’t seem to change. He felt so helpless but his hands still pressed into Len’s side wound in the hope that he could stop some of the bleeding. Then he felt Len’s hand cover his and he looked back to him to see the sad look in his eyes. He was telling him to give up. He just looked back at Len, terrified. He couldn’t do nothing.  
“You came back,” Len said through the pain. Barry froze in his actions and decided to let Len have this moment instead. If he needed him to talk instead of help, then he could at least give him that.  
“Of course I came back. I’ll never leave you again.” He couldn’t comprehend how he would ever not return. He tightened his grip on Len’s hand as though it would keep him with him a little longer. “This is all my fault.”  
Len winced with the pain, but having Barry with him through the pain made it somehow go away. Even if he wouldn’t get to live with Barry, at least he could die with him by his side at the end of it all. “At least I got to see you one last time.”  
“Don’t say that,” Barry couldn’t take it. His breathing was becoming frantic and his hands shaky. He wouldn’t let Len die, not after all they had been through. He’d helped him before, he could do it again, couldn’t he? “We’re together now. Everything’s going to be fine.”  
Len knew that wasn’t true. He could feel it all coming to an end. With a last push of energy, he held Barry’s face in his hand. The pair locked eyes and Len could see the tears forming in Barry’s. If he had to have it all end, at least the last sight he saw would be the man he loved.  
Then Barry felt the life leave the hand holding his face. His heart broke. Len’s hand went limp and he stopped breathing, his eyes finally shutting.  
Barry couldn’t hold back the tears anymore. “Len?”  
He gripped his arms tighter around Len’s body, as though it would bring him back, but it didn’t. With Len lifeless in his arms, he’d never felt so small. He wanted nothing more than to have him looking back at him again, laughing with him again, or dancing with him like before, anything. He just wanted his Len back.  
It hurt. It hurt like when his mother had died. That pain, he recognized it as a broken heart. That was when he knew what he’d been feeling for so long. Knowing now just made it hurt even more, because now it didn’t matter.  
He couldn’t stop himself now from crying. He was sobbing. He buried his face in Len’s shirt and let all the pain out, just as the final rose petal fell.  
“I love you.”

 

 

Then there was light.  
Though his eyes were closed as he cried, Barry could see the glaring light. He slowly opened them and saw that the light was all around them, as though the sun’s rays were circling them and protecting them from the rain around them.  
He felt a movement in his arms as Len’s body was being pushed up by the light. He felt something without words tell him to move and let this happen, so he pulled himself shakily from the ground, sad to let Len go.  
The magic in the air made the raindrops falling appear more like shooting stars and the water on the ground reflected back the golden colour. Suddenly it wove between Leonard’s fingers and shifted claws into nails. It flowed over fur and made it fade to reveal flesh again and the white disappeared like snowflakes in the sun. The wounds from fighting for love sewed themselves back together in intricate patterns as though nothing had been there. Horns were circled with the golden magic and scattered to the wind. All that was cursed fell away, leaving what once was, though the soul inside was what had truly changed.  
The magic faded into the night and rain along with it, and Barry looked to see a man on the ground. The figure began to move. He slowly stood, back to Barry, and looked to his hands and saw himself reflecting back. So long spent thinking he would never return to himself, yet here he stood feeling more alive than before.  
He turned back and smiled at Barry who looked back amazed and unsure. Barry felt he knew him. This person looked to him with so much love. Barry moved closer to the man and saw what made this man so familiar. It was the face he had admired in a painting in Len’s room what felt forever ago, handsome and noble. But what he truly remembered was the smile that he had seen in a library, the blue eyes he had gazed into in a ballroom. The person he loved.  
“Len?”  
Len smiled back at Barry and both felt a happiness they hadn’t thought they would get back. Barry gently reached out and held Len’s face in his hands as though to check that he wasn’t a dream. But Len was real; his hands rested on Barry’s hips and he felt the same sense of comfort he did when they had danced together. It was Len back. For once the world had been kind to both of them and given them their loves back.  
It was a perfect moment, holding each other, but was made better when Len did what he’d long to do for what felt forever, and kissed him. For a moment, as the night faded to reveal the golden morning sun, they had each other, a first perfect moment of many.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OH MY GOD  
> I can't write fight sequences hence that part is awful and took longer than usual, but I like the fluffy magic ending. Alas, the next chapter will be the last one for this fic to tie things up and show the happily ever after fluff. i'll keep writing Coldflash Disney AUs so keep an eye out for those coming soon.  
> My exams are now all over!!! YAY!!! I'll be able to write more now that I have not much else to do (unless I get a part-time job for the summer)
> 
> See you soon for the last chapter! xxx


	13. Beauty and the Beast

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is just tooth-rotting fluff  
> The final chapter for this fic! I hope you all enjoy xxxx

When Lisa opened her eyes, something felt different. She ran her hand through her, feeling a subtle pain in her head, when she froze. She had hands. She brought her hands in front of her face and saw that they were human hands. She then noticed her legs not feathers.She was human.  
“It worked,” she said to herself, amazed.  
She fumbled to get up as quickly as possible and looked around the castle entrance. There were few villagers remaining but some were staring in amazement. They weren’t where Lisa was looking though. The people she had been fighting alongside, cursed alongside, were showing the same signs of wonder that she was. Once they all saw that they were human, people’s spirits soared.  
Laurel and Sara caught each others eyes from across the room and raced to pull their sister into a hug. Iris was kissing Wally on each cheek and Mick was telling Ray not to hug him, despite Ray already being attached to his arm in a hug.  
Lisa smiled at the sight of her friends when she heard a voice call her name. “Lisa!”  
She turned round to see Cisco’s face in what felt like forever. He had on his usual goofy grin and she felt so happy to see it after so long. She hadn’t been that close to him when the curse had began, but now she opened her arms and wrapped them tightly around his neck as though they had been friends forever.  
Then two figures came into view at the top of the stairs and drew everyone’s attention. Barry and Len rushed in to check everyone was okay, holding hands.  
“Lenny!” Lisa shouted to her brother and ran to the end of the stairs when Len met her in a hug. It was a relief to see her brother not only safe and human again, but happy.  
When Len finally let his sister go, she smiled back at him before promptly smacking him in the arm.  
“Don’t you _ever_ go sacrificing yourself like that again.”  
He winced but end up laughing at how much she cared. “No promises.”  
Deciding that she had scolded her brother enough, Lisa turned back to the Barry who was making his way down the steps to join them. She let go of Len and gave a smug smile to Barry. “I’m glad you two managed to stop being idiots and tell each other how you feel. It took you long enough.”  
“Wait, you knew we liked each other?”  
She crossed her arms and chuckled at how oblivious he was. In her eyes, neither one of them had been subtle about their feelings. “Of course, Bar. I knew the first night you got here.”  
Barry was going to question how she could have known before even he did, when Len gently nudged his arm and gestured with his head towards the door. Barry drew his attention from Lisa to the door of the castle as saw his father arriving. He didn’t waste time and raced over to hug his father as he entered the castle again.  
Henry was looking at how different the castle was, having more light and less ice, when he felt his son crash into him and wrap his arms around his neck. It took his only a second before he was hugging back.  
When the pair pulled away, Henry was quick to ask, “So it worked? Leonard’s okay?”  
Hearing the man’s name turned Barry’s face red and blushing. He looked back to the steps and Henry’s eyes followed to see the Snart siblings gazing back at them. Henry looked at the man where he expected a beast to be and had to return his gaze to Barry to check that they were seeing the same thing. However, Barry’s smile confirmed that yes, this was the same person he had met in a dungeon long ago, and his son led him over to him.  
“Mister Allen,” Len drawled out, trying to hide the nerves at meeting Barry’s father again, but Henry saw through it anyway. “It’s good to see you again. So...about last time we met-”  
“Barry told me you sent him back to me.”  
Len paused in the words he had been rehearsing in his head. Maybe this wouldn’t go as smoothly as he was hoping. “Yes. You needed him.”  
Henry put a hand on the man’s shoulder. It calmed Barry, maybe it would calm him too. “Thank you. You’ve...changed since you last threw me in a dungeon-”  
“About that-”  
Henry just laughed. Len raised an eyebrow. Either Barry’s father was really forgiving or laughing at his attempts to apologize. He knew which was more likely. Luckily, just like his son, Henry surprised him.  
“Don’t worry about it, son. Barry tells me you’re a good man and I trust his judge of character. If he trusts you, I’m willing to learn to do the same.” Len didn’t know what to say to that and Henry seemed to notice this. “I’ll have to get used to the new face though.”  
Len scoffed. “You and I both.”  
Then Barry spotted some of the others. He didn’t want to leave Len’s side just yet, but he wanted to see Iris and Cisco and everyone in their human forms. “I’ll be back in a second.”  
With a quick kiss on Len’s cheek, he rushed off to the kitchen where Iris was before his father could say anything. Lisa saw an opportunity to leave Len and Henry alone and snuck off behind Barry.  
Len noticed Lisa sneak off, used to her hints by now, and turned his attention back to Henry. He placed his hands behind his back and sighed. Might as well ask now.  
“On the topic of trusting me-”  
“You want to marry him, don’t you?”  
Len was caught off guard again. “Well I wouldn’t exactly say no.”  
Henry chuckled to himself. “You know it’s not up to me. In the end it’s up to him and he won’t care what I say on the matter. he’ll follow his heart. If that means saying yes, then you have my permission to ask.”  
Len was expecting there to be a ‘but’ at the end of that sentence, but none came. He wasn’t sure what he was expecting from Barry’s father, more resentment probably, but the kindness he was showing him was the last thing he immediately thought he deserved. Maybe it was how his own father hadn’t been so trusting that made him doubt that he could be allowed to be this happy. It still felt like something was going wake him up, but he might as well take Henry’s blessing while he had it.  
“Thank you.”  
“Barry’s happy with you. Make sure he stays that way?” Henry asked with the hope that his son had found that love that he had been fighting to find.  
Len nodded. “I hope he will.”

 

“You said you were rich.”  
“I am.”  
“No, you’re a _prince._ That’s not the same thing.”  
“Princes have money. Besides, I’m technically a king so I wouldn’t call it lying. It’s calculated truth-telling.”  
Barry laughed as the pair reached the door to the ballroom. After his talk with Henry, Len had found Barry and the pair were heading to the ballroom. Barry was holding onto Len’s arm and trying to comprehend how he didn’t work out that Len was royalty, how he’d kissed royalty, when Len led him into the centre of the ballroom floor.  
“You really want to dance right now?” Barry asked. It was Len’s idea to come here and he didn’t really know why this was where he wanted to take him at that moment. “I mean, we can dance if you want but with no sentient piano-”  
“Barry. I actually have something to tell you.”  
He thought that would tip Barry off immediately, but the young man stood oblivious. “Okay.”  
With a deep breath, he moved to stand in front of Barry and held the other man’s hands. He hated how his suave air seemed to float away as soon as he needed to talk to Barry, but regardless he wasn’t wasting anymore time.  
“When I met you, I was...well a beast. I didn’t care about anyone but myself, didn’t treat people like people, didn’t do anything kind.” He though back to that day in the tower dungeon as he spoke, how he had felt no remorse. “Then you came along and for a while I was still awful. But you were someone I wanted to be better for.”  
He slipped one hand into his pocket and wrapped his fingers around something small, keeping it form Barry’s eyes.  
“I love you.” Saying it out loud felt good. So did seeing how Barry’s face lit up at the words. “I didn’t think I’d be able to love someone, break my curse. Then you showed me that I could. I know that I’m not going to love anyone like I love you.”  
He then pulled out his hand and let the object see the light. It was a small ring, old but still beautiful, that shone with silver and sapphires. It made Barry think of the ice that had surrounded the castle, but was now melted away with the curse. It was then that Barry clicked what was happening. He almost forgot to breathe as he looked up from the ring back at Len who was smiling at him.  
‘This is meant to go to the ruler’s spouse. I’m not exactly a traditional person, but this is the exception.”  
Barry’s felt a warmth in his heart that he thought for a while was gone when Len had died on that balcony. He watched as Len took a final deep breath, moved to stand on one knee, and looked back at him. Len seemed just as nervous as he was. But there was a certainty in his eyes too. He held the ring between them and brought himself to hope that this was real.  
“Barry Allen, will you marry me?”  
Barry smiled at him and remembered seeing that same love as when they were last there in that ballroom, dancing. He knew he felt that love too. All the hoping that he would find someone he loved had been worth it. He knew Len was the only one for him too.  
He nodded. “Yes.”  
He said it quietly as he could barely speak in the happiness of the moment. he couldn’t stop himself from smiling and Len smiled back up at him. It took him a second before he tore his eyes away from Barry’s smile and quickly fumbled to put the ring on his finger. It fit on his finger perfectly.  
Len stood up again and the pair barely knew what to do with themselves with such happiness between them.  
“We’re getting married,” Len said like it was only just occurring to him what he had done. He hadn’t thought, after his father, after the curse, that he would get to say that. He had someone he loved who loved him back. He said it as though it would make it feel less like a dream.  
“We’re getting married,’ Barry confirmed in return. After his last proposal, he didn’t think that he’d be able to have this. Yet here was someone he was going to marry for love. It was terrifying and exhilarating, just as love should be.  
The pair shared a moment of disbelief between them before they broke out into smiles. They pulled each other into a tight hug and Len lifted Barry off his feet and turned him round which made the young man squeal and bury his face in Len’s shoulder. Once his feet were back on the ground, Barry wrapped his arms tighter round Len’s neck and kissed him. Len’s arms wrapped round Barry’s back in return and pulled him closer, kissing him back with the same intensity. It finally made the moment feel less like a dream, and more like an unlikely but wonderful reality.

 

The celebrations for the returned King Leonard and his new husband, Prince Consort Barry, were a crescendo of colour and light. The ballroom was finally put to its proper use and was filled with people from all classes dancing and enjoying the festivities. Fresh flowers decorated the room and musicians played for the people moving on the dance floor. The light streamed in and illuminated the marble where ice had once layered the walls.  
Once the city was free of the tyranny ruling over it, the people welcomed their rightful King with open arms, and knew Barry to be the right person to have at his side, the one who had stayed good despite the easy option being to give in. The remains of Hunter’s followers weren’t seen in the Kingdom again, leaving the villagers in the hands of their King, and life thrived.  
“I think I’m getting the hang of this,” Barry said with a smile as he danced with Len in the centre of the room. The crown he’d been given as Prince Consort was a weight he wasn’t used to having when dancing, and he was proud of how he was mastering moving with grace despite it. It was magical, to dance with his love in a royal ball and see all the people dressed up and dancing around them, like a fairytale.  
“Well you do have a wonderful partner,” Len reminded him and twirled Barry round as though to prove his point. They knew they were the centre of attention, but dancing together made them feel like the only people in the room.  
Then Len stopped smiling for a moment and started giving death glares to someone across the room. Barry rolled his eyes. “You’re doing it again.”  
“Lisa is a Princess. It’s simply my job to make sure Ramon keeps his hands to himself,” Len craned his head slightly so he could better see Lisa and Cisco dancing, while still swaying with Barry.  
Lisa and Cisco were dancing also, Cisco blushing the whole time while Lisa smiled at his shyness. Barry caught them from the corner of his eye. “They’re cute.”  
Len didn’t like admitting that his sister had someone on her mind romantically, but he wanted her to be happy so her would have to deal with it. No power could stop Lisa Snart once she set her mind on something.  
Barry cupped Len’s face in his hand and turned his love’s attention back to him. “You’re overprotective, you know that?”  
Len laughed and Barry moved his hand back to it’s position on Len’s shoulder. “Am I? I hadn’t noticed.”  
Barry scoffed at the teasing and kissed Len on the cheek. “It’s what I love about you, Your Majesty.”  
“And I love you, Your Majesty.”  
Barry sighed, “I’m still not used to that name.”  
“Well I think it suits you, Mr Snart.”  
Barry laughed at that. “I think you’ll find that you’re Mr Allen now. Leonard Allen sounds better than Bartholomew Snart.”  
Len laughed and gave him another twirl. Dancing and twirling with Barry was the quickest way to the young man’s heart in Len’s experience. “Snart-Allen sounds good. Very royal.”  
Barry tilted his head and looked away, pretending to only now think of how they should be named, despite both of them knowing Barry had _definitely_ thought about it already. After a moment he turned back to Len with a nod. “I’m happy with Snart-Allen.”  
“Anything for my dashing prince,” Len teased and Barry laughed.  
The pair began to move again at a faster pace around the ballroom, the light from the sun finally free to filter in and illuminate their once cold home and the band playing in on.

 

_Winter turns to spring, famine turns to feast_  
_Nature points the way, nothing left to say_  
_Beauty and the Beast._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's done! Happily ever after! Thank you all SO MUCH for reading and commenting and everything you've done to help me through this fic. This is one of the only multichapter fics I've been able to fully finish so thank you all for pushing me through it and helping me. The next Disney Coldflash fic will be ....... Tangled!!! I'm gonna make it like this one in the sense that it will follow the main plot but have different dialogue and some different elements to make in more like the characters, such as the ice and Len's appearance in this one, etc. Keep checking back here for updates and the first chapter should be up in less than a week! See you all soon xxxxx
> 
> UPDATE - The first chapter for Tangled is up now !!! :) xxxx

**Author's Note:**

> Please leave comments/kudos as they really help me to keep writing. I'll try and keep this updated regularly (famous last words)


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